Love, Chaos, and Weasleys
by DontAvadaSnuffles
Summary: This story is told over the span of books 4 thru 7 through Victoria Wallace, a close friend of the Weasley twins. Centers mostly on her and twins, and a closer relationship with Fred. Doesnt follow EXACTLY...sort of AU. Rated T for safety. RR Ch 9&10 up.
1. Chapter 1

Hey all:)

First, thanks for choosing to give my story a shot. It's my first ever HP fic, so please be gentle.

Second, my disclaimer: I DO NOT own any Harry Potter. That would be the copyright of the brilliant J.K. Rowling. I do however own any characters that are not in the Harry Potter series. Victoria Wallace and Renee are mine. I will inform you of any other characters of creation at the beginning of each chapter, if a new one comes into play in that chapter.

And with that, let us begin!

DontAvadaSnuffles

Chapter 1

Victoria, Lee, Fred, and George trudged into the Gryffindor common room after what felt like the longest Potions class ever. They had been working on a complicated potion, what it was actually for, Victoria didn't remember. She and Lee had been more interested in hearing about Fred and George's lastest creation, Puking Pastilles.

"That's genius," Lee said.

"Wanna be a tester?" Fred asked.

"Not especially. I'm not a fan of hurling."

"I agree with Lee," Victoria said. "Isn't there anything you've been working on that doesn't include projectile vomit?"

"But that's the best kind," George insisted. When Victoria rolled her eyes, George went on. "Well, we have been working on something that maybe more up your alley. Fainting Fancies."

"Hmm...interesting."

"They're not quite done yet though. They're missing something."

"I wouldn't mind testing that one. Sounds harmless enough."

"No," Fred and George said in unison.

"Well why not?"

"Because Mum would not only flip out if she knew what we were up to--" Fred started.

"--But she would murder us if she knew we tested our stuff on you," George finished.

"Yeah, Mrs. Weasley is pretty fond of you, Tori," Lee said. "She wouldn't let these two gits use you as a guinea pig."

Victoria rolled her eyes. "If I want to help, I will."

At this point Snape walked up to their tables, inspecting their cauldrons.

"This is all wrong," he said after looking in Lee's. "You forgot the belladonna and you've been stirring clockwise, not _counter_clockwise."

Next he inspected Fred's cauldron. "Absolutely horrid."

Then he looked in George's cauldron. "That goes double for you."

Lastly, he looked in Victoria's cauldron. "Some of my first year students could do better than this, Miss Wallace."

Victoria glared at him.

"Maybe you four better start paying attention in this class. 50 points will be taken from Gryffindor for each of you, and you'll have detention with me tomorrow morning at eight."

"But it's Saturday!" Lee protested.

Snape merely looked unsympathetic and walked back up to his desk.

They had left the class grumbling and complaining under their breath, and didn't stop until they all flopped down on the cozy couch in front of the fire place for a short rest. A couple of first years sat at the table doing homework. Among the homework table were also some third years, Ginny being one of them, and a few frantic fifth years, studying for their OWLs. Oddly enough Hermione wasn't at the homework table. Victoria figured she must have been in the library.

Victoria noticed Ron and Harry sitting at another, smaller table playing a game of Wizard's Chess. Victoria nearly gasped aloud when she saw Ron's hand all bandaged up and Harry with some scratches on his face. She got up from the comfort of her spot between Fred and Lee and went to their table.

"Boys, what happened to you?" she asked.

Harry and Ron both looked up at the sound of her voice.

"Oh, hi, Tori," Harry said. He motioned to the scratches on his face. "It's nothing. Got stuck in the crossfire of fight between a couple of people in Charms."

"And what happened to your hand, Ronnie?" she asked.

Ron's ears had turned a slight pinkish color at the use of the nickname. It confused Victoria momentarily. He never minded it before; It's what she had always called him since he was three years old.

"Blast-Ended Skrewt," he muttered. "Bloody stupid things."

"It doesn't hurt, does it?" she asked, taking his bandaged hand.

"No," Ron said, blushing.

Victoria raised an eyebrow at the sudden flush of color to his cheeks but said nothing.

"Tori, quit worrying about them. They're fine," George said.

"Yeah, we've got some work we need to do," Lee added.

"And it's kind of hard to do it without you, because between the four of us you're the only one who pays any attention," Fred concluded.

"That's sad when I'm the only one who pays attention. I sometimes daydream as much as that Ravenclaw girl...what's her name? Luna Lovegood," Victoria said.

Harry and Ron laughed.

"Well you're all we've got," Lee said, getting up from the couch. "C'mon."

Victoria rolled her eyes. "To the library," she said to Fred, George, and Lee.

"If you run into Hermione, maybe she'll help you," Harry said.

"She never can resist an opportunity to show off how much she knows," Ron added.

"Be nice," Victoria scolded lightly.

Ron rolled his eyes.

"Sometime this century, Tori," George called from the portrait hole.

With a quick wave to Harry and Ron, Victoria took off after her friends.

When they arrived at the library, their voices dropped to whisper so they wouldn't get yelled at by the librarian. The four of them selected a table in the back of the library, which was empty except for a pretty brunette from Ravenclaw. She was a sixth year like the rest of them, and also George's girlfriend.

"Renee!" George said gleefully, dropping into the seat next to her.

"Shhh!" the librarian hissed from a nearby shelf. If Victoria hadn't known better, she would have thought she had Apparated. It was the only logical explanation for a sudden appearance.

"Hi, Georgie," Renee said, smiling at him. "Hi, Fred. Lee. Tori."

The three of them waved as George leaned over for a quick kiss. They took their seats at the table as well. Lee rummaged around in his bag for his History of Magic homework and a quill, which he never had. Victoria, knowing this, already pulled a spare quill out of her bag for him. Lee grinned at her and set to work. Victoria and Fred had decided they would work on their

Ancient Runes assignments. George, however, was trying to get Renee to help him with his work.

"Please, Renee? You're better at Potions than I am," George said.

Lee snorted. "Yeah, that's the understatement of the century."

"Okay, so she's a lot better than I am," he said to Lee. "Queen of Potions, even." He turned back to Renee. "Oh, my Queen, will you assist a lowly peasant like myself on his Potions homework?" George liked to get theatrical, so much so, that as he ended this performance, he was on his knees, hands clasped in front of him.

Victoria giggled as Renee rolled her eyes.

"You're pathetic. Get back up, peasant. I'll help you," Renee said.

"You're a good and merciful queen," George said, getting up and sitting back in his chair.

"Yes, I know." Renee couldn't help but smile at him as she said this. It was hard not to smile at either of the twins. Victoria knew that from first hand experience.

They all studied and worked for hours, but not without the occasional joke from Fred, George, or Lee. Victoria and Renee had attempted to keep the boys on track, but had a hard time doing so. It was impossible to make them listen while one laughed at their jokes. It only encouraged them.

"We better get back to the dorms and get some sleep," said Fred. "We have Snape's detention in the morning."

"Detention?" Renee said disbelievingly.

George looked at her a bit sheepishly. "You know we can't help it."

Renee shook her head and sighed. "What am I going to do with you?"

George shrugged. "But you know you love me anyway. Detentions and all."

Renee laughed. "This is true."

"Hate to break up the love fest, but Fred is right," Lee said, putting away his things. "For once."

Fred made a playful swipe for Lee's head but he ducked. They all put their books, parchment, and quills back in their bags and started walking back to the dorms. George had decided to walk Renee back to her dorm, so Lee, Fred and Victoria went back to their portait hole without him. The common room was empty and the fire seemed to flicker half-heartedly in the fireplace.

"Well goodnight, boys," she said. "See you bright and early."

"Yeah...right," Lee mumbled. He was obviously still upset about giving up his morning of sleeping in.

"Night, Tori," Fred called to her as she went up the stairs to her room.

She closed the door quietly behind her, as not to bother her roommates that were already in bed. She dug around in her trunk for her nightclothes and changed quickly. She sat down in front of the vanity they all shared and brushed out her long, straight black hair. She put it into a braid before cleaning the make-up off of her tanned face and removing the eye make up from her blue-green eyes. After that, Victoria went and crawled into her bed.

Victoria glanced at the pictures that cluttered her nightstand. There was one of her and her parents on vacation in Paris. There was a big group shot of her family and the entire Weasley clan at the Burrow. Victoria's family's house elf Nova had taken that picture. Then there was one of her, Lee, Fred, and George on the Hogwarts Express at the end of their first year. George stuck his tongue out at the camera, Lee was putting rabbit ears on Fred, Fred was trying to smack Lee's hand and Victoria was just laughing, trying not to get squished. Then there was one where Fred was carrying Victoria on his back. That had been taken in their fourth year, while they were dating. They had a mutual break up before the summer, deciding they were better at being friends than a couple. Luckily, there wasn't any strain on their friendship after that. In fact, they were closer than before. She glanced at the picture next to that one. It was a picture of Ginny, getting off the Hogwarts Express for the first time. She was grinning. The last picture she had was of Harry, Hermione, herself, and Ron from just a week ago in Hogsmeade. Harry had his arm slung around Hermione's shoulder in a brotherly fashion and Hermione was showing off her pretty smile. Victoria had been hugging Ron tightly from behind, and while his face was red, he looked happy. She smiled remembering the weekend and drifted off to sleep.

(I know its a bit slow, but it gets better, promise. Please Review!)


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

A/N-- For the purpose of this and forthcoming chapters, we'll just say Alicia Spinnet (a Chaser for Gryffindor) has graduated. lol. Oh yeah, and I know Quidditch was suspended during the Triwizard Tournament...but...I'm not exactly following the book...haha. I'm gonna put in the Yule Ball but that's mostly it from book 4...I know, I know...shame on me for not sticking closer to the story. But hopefully the next couple chapters makes up for it. :)

The next morning, Victoria woke up at seven. She groaned as she got out of bed, the rest of her roommates still sleeping peacefully. She rubbed her eyes and yawned. Sighing, she went to take a quick shower. About fifteen minutes later, Victoria stood in the common room, waiting on Lee, Fred, and George. She had hoped they could go get breakfast before enduring the morning with Snape. When it got to be 7:30 and the boys still hadn't come downstairs, she went up to get them.

Being careful not to wake their other two roommates, Victoria went into the room to get up her lazy friends. She shook George's shoulder.

"Five more minutes, Mummy," he mumbled, pulling the blanket over his head.

"George Weasley, get up!" Victoria hissed in his ear and pulled the blanket off of him.

George shivered and opened his eyes. "Oh, hi, Tori," he said through a yawn.

Victoria rolled her eyes and went to wake Fred next. She didn't waste time with just trying to shake him awake. Instead, she jumped on his bed. Startled, Fred woke up.

"Tori!" Fred shouted. He seemed almost alarmed.

"Oh, shut up. I had to wake you up somehow."

Lee was always the hardest one to wake. In his case, Victoria just pushed him out of his bed. He landed with a soft thud and groaned tiredly.

"Get up, you git," Victoria said.

"God, what's got you in such a mood this morning?" George asked.

"Probably the fact that we're not going to have time for breakfast before detention. I thought you guys were gonna meet me in the common room at 7:15."

"It's not 7:15, Tori."

"Yeah, I know. It's 7:50 now."

"Oh crap," Lee said, getting up off the floor and scrambling into his robes.

"Yeah, my sentiments exactly."

Once the boys had finally gotten dressed, the four of them took off running down to Snape's office. They got there just as it turned 8 o'clock according to Victoria's watch. Panting, Lee knocked on the door. The door swung open and they went inside.

"Good morning," Snape said.

"Wish we could--" George started.

"--say the same," Fred finished.

Since Victoria had been standing between them, she jabbed them both in the ribs with her elbow. They winced.

"Jordan," Snape said, ignoring the twins. "You are going to be scrubbing these floors clean. Wallace, you will be organizing all of the ingredients; the first years are very careless when putting things away. Weasleys, you'll be alphabetizing files. Fred, you take A-M. George, you take N-Z. No magic is to be used by any of you. No talking. Now get to work."

Grudgingly, they all set off to do their tasks.

After nearly three hours of work, Snape finally released them. Victoria felt nearly faint with hunger by the then and she heard the guys' stomachs grumble. They took off for the great hall to catch a late breakfast.

"The next time we get an early morning detention, I'm going to breakfast without you three," Victoria said.

"That's fine by me. I don't think I want you pushing me out of bed again anytime soon anyway," Lee said through a mouthful of pancakes.

"Sorry, but unless I had more time, there was no other way to wake you up."

"Let's just hope we don't get anymore early morning detentions," George said.

"I'm all for that," Fred agreed.

George glanced at his watch. "Oh, I'm supposed to go meet Renee. I'll see you guys later." He grabbed a few more slices of toast before taking off.

"That he remembers, but he can't remember to get up for detention." Victoria said, rolling her eyes.

"Well Snape isn't somebody you particularly look forward to seeing," Lee said.

"He makes a valid point," Fred pointed out.

"I suppose that's true," Victoria said, as she finished off her food. "Oh, what time's the Quidditch game tomorrow?"

Another thing Victoria and the Weasley twins had done together was join the Quidditch team in their second year. Fred and George were both Beaters; Victoria was one of three Chasers. Lee was content to commentating each game; he always had so much fun doing it. "I'm a lousy Quidditch player, anyway," he had once told them with a laugh.

"Ten o'clock."

"Why hasn't Oliver called for practice today?" Victoria wondered.

"I heard that he got too backed up with his classes," Lee said. "Been doing too much strategizing, not enough homework."

"Oh well. I'm glad we don't have practice today," Fred said. "A whole Saturday to do whatever we want. Besides, we'll be playing Slytherin tomorrow. We'll be fine."

"I wouldn't get too cocky. Slytherin likes to play dirty," Victoria said, frowning. "I almost wish we did have practice today because of it."

"Oh relax." Fred slung an arm around Victoria's shoulders. "We're gonna pulervise them!"

"I can't wait to see the look on Malfoy's stupid face after Harry snatches the snitch," Lee said as he finally pushed away his plate.

"Stop talking like that, you guys are gonna jinx us," Victoria muttered.

"It's just your usual pre-game jitters talking, Tor," Fred insisted.

"Jitters or no jitters, I think I'll see if I can get some of the team to practice with me anyway Or whoever wants to play." Victoria shrugged Fred's arm off of her shoulder, almost reluctantly. It had been nice, comfortable even. She mentally shook the the thought away before it could go any farther than that. ('Of course it was comfortable,' she told herself. 'He's your best friend.') "See you two later." She pushed herself away from the table and stood up. She had turned and started to leave the table.

"Oh, Tori?"

She turned around again. "Yes, Fred?"

"The Yule Ball is coming up in a few weeks, and I was wondering if you wanted to go...with me." She could have sworn she saw something in his eyes when asked. She couldn't put her finger on it. Could it have been a hint of hope? A touch of nervousness? But it had been just a mere flicker and that didn't give her time to ponder it.

"Sure, that'd be great, buddy." Victoria had been careful to put emphasis on the word "buddy", mostly to remind herself. She and Fred had tried the dating thing once. They had decided to be friends. Just friends. She felt a strange twinge in her stomach, and promptly ignored it.

Fred gave her a little lopsided smile. "Cool. It's a---"

Before he had time to finish that sentence, Victoria had left the Great Hall.

Victoria had been able to get Harry, Ginny, Ron, Katie Bell, and Angelina Johnson to just run some practice plays for the Quidditch game the next day. It had been fun and relaxed. So much fun that they lost all track of time and played until dark. After their practice Victoria felt much better about the imminent match. Harry, Victoria, Katie, and Angelina couldn't help but notice that Ginny seemed to be a natural Quidditch player, and Ron had some real potential.

After the pratice session, the six of them made their way to the Great Hall for dinner, talking about their scrimmage. They had sat down with George, Lee, and Fred, but Victoria made a point to sit between Katie and Angelina. The brief moment she and Fred had earlier made her feel vaguely awkward and she couldn't shake it. Victoria did notice a slight frown tug at Fred's lips when she didn't sit with him, which then made her feel the tiniest bit guilty. But he had shook it off quickly, talking with George about the best way to go about "rubbing it in Slytherin's face when they lose."

When dinner had ended, Victoria didn't walk with Lee and the twins back to Gryffindor tower either. She had decided to go ahead with Harry, Ron, Ginny, Angelina, and Katie. Victoria did want to get a good night's sleep anyway. Once they stepped through the portrait hole, she had intended to go up to the dorm with Angelina and Katie, but Ron took Victoria's wrist. She looked at him confused as Harry and Ginny passed them.

"What's up, Ron?" she asked.

"I...I wanted to ask you something," he said, looking nervous.

"What is it?"

"Would you...will you..." The rest of his question had come out in such a rush she didn't understand what he had asked.

"Could you say it again? Slower this time. I didn't understand what you said."

"Would you go to the Yule Ball with me?" He was quite red by the end of his question.

"Oh, Ronnie, I would love to..." she started. He looked hopeful and she immediately wished she hadn't started her answer that way. "...but Fred already asked me and I told him yes."

"Oh...right...Fred. I forgot," he mumbled, averting his eyes.

"There's nothing between me and Fred," Victoria said, mostly to herself. "I think he asked me as a safety date. We're just friends." That strange twinge came back, and she just as promptly dismissed it. Ron still looked unhappy and she hated it.

"That's okay." He didn't sound like he meant it. "Really." He gave Victoria a half-hearted smile. "Goodnight." He walked past her and started to go up to his dorm.

"Ron, wait."

He turned around again. "Yeah?"

"I really would have liked to go with you if Fred hadn't already asked me." She found that part of her meant that. "Is it okay if I save you a dance or two?"

He suddenly grinned. "Yeah, sure. Goodnight, Tori."

"Goodnight," Victoria said, smiling a little.

Ron turned again and went up the stairs to his dorm. Sighing, Victoria went up to her dorm as well.

She went through her nightly routine of getting ready for bed and then snuggled under her covers. While her face may have appeared calm to an unknowing eye, her head swam with confusion. Whenever she thought of Fred, she felt weird twinges. They were a mixture of happy and uncertainty. But then she thought of Ron. She glanced at the picture from the Hogsmeade weekend with Harry, Hermione and Ron. She focused on the half with her and Ron. He was really a sweet guy and he made her laugh and she did care for him deeply...

Victoria sighed softly. This was not going to be the good night's rest she hoped for. After what seemed like a long while, she drifted off to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N-- Before I begin, I'd just like to say something. Iz, thank you for the critique. I have changed the summary, but for all future reviewers I would appreciate it if any critiques are made, that they are put kindly. The review may not have held as much attitude as I took in it, but remember---it's hard to show intonation online and not everything may be taken like it was meant to.

Oh, and yes, I have kept Oliver as captain...technically, I know he graduated after Prisoner of Azkaban, but...I wanted to keep him. haha.

And now, on with Chapter 3!

Chapter 3

Victoria had a nervous knot in her stomach the following morning as she got ready for the day. Angelina and Katie, while part of the Quidditch team, were also two of her roommates. They didn't seem too worried about the match and they kept trying to put Victoria at ease. Some of what they said helped...but only in her feelings towards the game that was mere hours away. Victoria hadn't mentioned what else was bothering her. (She wasn't sure either Katie or Angelina would be able to keep this information to themselves.) She couldn't help but think about these strange feelings that had suddenly bubbled up about Ron. Sure, she had always thought him cute and fun, but could she really be falling for him?

Or maybe, just maybe, was he a convenient distraction for these newfound feelings for Fred? (If that were the case, she had to nip it in the bud---and fast. She didn't want to hurt Ron.) This is what had been troubling Victoria the most. Fred was her best friend, the best friend she ever had. Their brief relationship as something more had been just that: brief. If it had been meant to be, wouldn't they still be involved? Then there that was that pressure brought on by the words "boyfriend" and "girlfriend". People had expected them to be very lovey-dovey in the halls and it had been awkward. It just didn't seem right to push their friendship into that rocky realm of relationships. They had called it quits, no hard feelings. Friendship still quite intact.

But now, Victoria seemed to find herself thinking about Fred quite a bit. Too much for her liking. She remembered how he had his arm around her yesterday morning and how he had seemed to let it linger...and how she let him linger there, reluctant to move it. Butterlies assaulted her stomach as she thought about it. This was not good. Even if they had got back together, what would happen? Would it last? Would they break up? And if they broke up...would their friendship survive it? Victoria refused to consider that possibility---however unlikely---that one day they would not be friends. It would be too much for her to bear.

Lost in her dilemma, she allowed herself to be lead to the Great Hall for some breakfast. The ceiling indicated that the day was sunny and a breeze was pushing the few clouds along the bright blue sky. Victoria wished she had been in a mood to enjoy the beauty of the day. She sat down between Lee and Angelina, and directly across from Fred. He gave a little nod in her direction to acknowledge her. Apparently he was a little bit miffed about Victoria's avoidance yesterday. She really couldn't blame him. Fred didn't know what he had done, and Victoria had kept him in the dark. She picked at her food as the rest of the team started to join them for breakfast, talking excitedly about the game. At nine o'clock, the team walked down to the locker room together and found their captain, Oliver Wood, pacing around.

"Hey, guys, I'm sorry there couldn't be a practice yesterday, but I got so bogged down with work and---"

"Oliver, relax! Take a breath," George encouraged. "You're going to talk yourself to death and then we won't have a Keeper."

Oliver did pause and took a deep breath. "Right. Sorry. But I'm glad you're all here early...I came up with a few new strategies this morning."

"Does he ever sleep?" Fred muttered to George.

For about forty minutes, Oliver went over his new strategies, and kept apologizing there was no time to really practice them. Then he launched into his forever long pep talk. He meant well, the team knew, so didn't really get on his case by telling him to wrap it up. Oliver glanced at the clock and his eyes widened in surprise, like he hadn't realized how long he had been talking.

"Okay well have a good game everybody! Let's get out on the pitch, shall we?" Oliver said, thus ending his speech.

The team jumped up from their bench seats and went to grab their brooms; Fred and George also grabbed their bats. The team started to file out but Victoria grabbed the back of Fred's robe, pulling him back for a minute. She had felt a slight strain between her and Fred and they couldn't have that during the game. They needed their full concentration.

He looked baffled. "Tori, we gotta get out there. The game's about to start."

"I know, this'll just take a minute," Victoria said in a rush. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry about yesterday. I shouldn't have been...avoiding you."

"Yeah, what was that about anyway?" he asked curiously.

"I was just having a weird day I guess." That was sort of the truth anyway. "Just wanted to apologize..."

Fred grinned. "Aw, you know I can't stay mad at you, Tor," he said, slinging an arm around her and pulling her into a one-armed hug.

Victoria almost wish he hadn't. Those stupid butterflies attacked her again as she breathed in the scent of him. He had smelled of faintly scented soap and licorice. It was oddly exhilarating.

"Weasley, Wallace, hurry up!" Oliver yelled frantically into the locker room.

"Come on...let's go kick some Slytherin tail," Fred said and they took off running out of the locker room.

They joined their teammates on the pitch and simultaneously zoomed up into the air.

"Shake hands," the referee instructed the team captains.

Oliver and the Slytherin captain shook hands and then the referee blew her whistle, starting the game.

Slytherin had gained control of the Quaffle very quickly and had tried to score on Gryffindor, but Oliver was too quick and blocked the shot.

"And Slytherin Chaser Marcus Flint has been DENIED!" Lee's voice boomed over the speakers. "He doesn't look too happy about it, folks...looks almost as disappointed as when his girlfriend, also from Slytherin, denied him something else..."

"LEE JORDAN!" Professor McGonagall had shouted threateningly.

"Sorry, Professor. Ohh and now Gryffindor Chaser, Angelina Johnson, has the Quaffle! Johnson passes to Bell...and in swoops George Weasley to protect Bell from a Bludger! Nice save, Weasley!"

"TORI! CATCH!" Katie shouted and threw the Quaffle to Victoria.

Victoria caught it with ease and zoomed off towards the Slytherin goal posts. She dived and soared accordingly around the Slytherin Chasers and as soon as she thought she had a clear shot, Victoria threw the Quaffle with all her might towards the middle goal post.

"Victoria Wallace of Gryffindor throws the Quaffle! Up soars Slytherin Keeper Miles Bletchley and he reaches to block the Quaffle and...he misses! Ten points to Gryffindor!"

The Gryffindor supporters in the crowd went wild, while the Slytherin section groaned.

"Warrington of Slytherin now has possession of the Quaffle...Wallace goes for the steal and Warrington passes to Flint. Bell zooms over to Flint, GO, KATIE!" Lee shouted excitedly, then sighed loudly in disappointment when Flint went just out of Katie's reach to pass to Montague.

Montague then flew exceedingly fast towards Gryffindor's goal posts. Oliver had been gaurding the middle so Montague lobbed the Quaffle towards the goal post on the left.

"Wood goes for the block and...just misses...ten points to Slytherin." The crowd cheered or groaned accordingly. "And the game is tied."

Montague had been in possession of the Quaffle again and Victoria didn't allow him to have it long. She swooped in and grabbed the Quaffle. Victoria sped off as Montague chased her. Angelina had been flying close and Victoria threw it to her. Angelina gathered speed quickly, flying with grace and precision. Before Bletchley knew what was happening, Angelina had already thrown the Quaffle into one of the hoops.

"Twenty-ten to Gryffindor!" Lee bellowed joyfully, and the rest of the crowd had followed suit.

Infuriated by the Gryffindor lead, Slytherin wasted no time pulling out all their tricks. Marcus Flint had yanked on Victoria's broom to slow her down and tried (unsuccessfully) to make her lose her balance. Warrington had gone after Katie, slamming into her. She had wavered and fallen off her broom, but thankfully had a tight grip on the broom handle and had been able to been able to remount. Montague had jabbed Angelina hard in the ribs with his elbow. Gryffindor shouted their anger at Slytherin. Lee had slipped up a few times in his commentating and swore a colorful streak, quickly followed by a "Sorry, Professor! It slipped!" The referee, seeing most of this, had fouled Slytherin several times and gave Gryffindor plenty of penalty shots, most of which were made.

"And the score is 130-90 to Slytherin..." Lee sounded bitter. "Slytherin taking unfair advantage and injuring Gyrffindor players..."

"Lee Jordan, be objective," McGongall said wearily, clearly disappointed in the tactics brought about by Slytherin.

It was then that Victoria saw a glimmer of gold zoom across her line of vision. Quickly following it had been the Slytherin Seeker, and then Harry.

"GO, HARRY, GO!" Victoria yelled.

"And the Snitch has been spotted!" Lee suddenly sounded excited again. Enthusiasm rang in his voice, now that he wasn't reporting on anymore injuries or downfalls to Gryffindor.

Harry kicked his speed up a few notches and was neck-in-neck with Slytherin's guy. They both shot out their hands and at first it was unclear who got it...until Harry held up the Snitch triumphantly.

"POTTER SNATCHES THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS!" Lee shouted in excitement.

It had been the last thing Victoria heard before something solid flew into the back of her head at top speed. A dark curtain had been dropped over Victoria's eyes as the crowd started shouting.

When Victoria next opened her eyes, she winced a little at the light and saw a bunch of people standing around her. It was the Quidditch team, Lee, Hermione, Renee, and Ron.

"What's going on?" Victoria mumbled.

"Oh, hey, she speaks!" Lee said, alerting the others.

"Victoria!"

"You're awake!"

"How are you feeling?"

Everybody was talking so fast and all at once, it was hard to identify which question or statement was coming from who. She frowned and pinched the bridge of her nose. She was getting a headache already.

"Settle down. One at a time," Renee said.

Victoria glanced at her gratefully as the noise level dropped.

"Me first," Victoria insisted.

Renee nodded. "Go on."

"Last thing I remember...we won the game..."

"Yes we did," Oliver said proudly.

Victoria had started to glance around the room. She recognized it fairly quickly. She had spent her fair share of time in here.

"Why am I in the hospital wing?"

"Because Slytherin's a bunch of bad losers," Lee said, bitterness edging his voice.

"I don't understand..."

"Well, after Harry caught the Snitch...one of Slytherin's beaters, Bole, hit one of the Bludgers at you," he explained. "Got you right in the back of the head."

"From where I sat, your face just kind of went blank..." Hermione said, picking up the story. "It was terrible. You were kind of still for a minute and then you started to fall off your broom..."

"At that point we noticed you weren't in the circle celebrating with us," Angelina said. "Katie turned to look for you and saw you fall. We flew over to you as fast as we could and caught you before you hit the ground."

"When the twins here realized what happened, they rushed Bole faster than the rest of us could." Oliver had picked up the story now. "They really gave him a beating!" He sounded proud.

Victoria looked over at the twins who had fading bruises on their faces.

"You beat up Bole?"

"Well of course. Nobody hurts you--" George started.

"--and gets away with it," Fred said. "They should really--"

"--know better by now."

George looked calm and at ease with his arm around Renee's waist. However, Victoria could detect anger still Fred's eyes. As if this story just made him angrier reliving it for her. Then something occured to her. If the bruises on the twins faces were already fading, that must mean...

"How long have I been out for?" Victoria wondered aloud.

"You've been out for about a week and a half," Harry informed her.

Victoria's mouth hung open.

"We were all pretty worried for a while," Ron said. "But Madame Pomfrey kept insisting you were okay. In fact, she'll probably drive most of us out of her in a minute..."

"Which would be good...you need your rest anyway," Hermione said.

Victoria frowned. "How much more rest could I possibly get? Besides, I don't wanna be left her all by myself."

"I'll stay," Fred volunteered quickly.

Ron started to open his mouth and shut it again. He seemed to frown a bit himself.

At this point, Madame Pomfrey shooed everybody out of the room, except for Fred on the condition he did not move from the chair by Victoria's bed, unless he was leaving. She did not want any Weasley chaos on her watch.

Victoria smiled as Fred sat down next to her.He took one of her hands. Victoria almost withdrew her hand when the butterflies that had been dormant the last week or so had roared to life again, but she liked this too much. It was nice and comforting to have Fred there, holding her hand. Especially there in the hospital wing, which she had always feared.

"So...what all has happened lately?" she asked curiously.

Fred grinned. "Well there was one day in Potions..."

They had talked late into the night, until Madame Pomfrey inevitably kicked Fred out so Victoria could rest once more.

And thus ends chapter 3. What did you think? Please review! (I have chapter 4 all nice and ready, and will update again after I get at least 3 reviews. )

Until next time.

DontAvadaSnuffles


	4. Chapter 4

A/N-- Just to keep you up-to-date on the characters I own: Victoria Wallace, Renee, and now Shiloh. Also, Thanks for all the reviews so far!! Enjoy chapter 4. :)

Chapter 4

Two days after Victoria had woken up from her extended nap, Madame Pomfrey released her from the hospital wing. Victoria was very grateful for that. She had been sore from laying in bed that whole time, and when she had woken up, the hospital wing had given her the creeps. Fred couldn't be there all the time to distract her. The thought of Fred had stopped her in her tracks.

She had liked him sitting with her and holding her hand a little too much. It had turned her to putty. She couldn't have that anymore.

'I was recovering from a head injury,' Victoria reasoned with herself. 'I'm allowed a minor slip up I suppose.'

Victoria couldn't very well avoid Fred again; she hadn't particularly cared for that the first time around, anyway. And it would be odd for her to be avoiding her---she cringed as she thought the word---date to the Yule Ball, which was just a week away. She would just have to limit the amount of physical contact. No hand holding, no hugs...hell, at this point she wasn't sure she could trust herself to sit shoulder-to-shoulder with him.

Of course, Fred was making it very difficult for her stick to her plan. All the hand holding in the hospital wing seemed to have made him bolder. Any chance he got to reach for her hand, he would go for it. However, Victoria would quickly scratch her nose and put her hand back in her lap. If they were studying, Fred would "forget" his books in his dorm and try to share Victoria's. He would lean his head in close and she would breathe in that unique scent of his. If she allowed him to stay like that long, it almost made her dizzy and weakened her defenses. At this point she just slid the book to Fred, saying she was done with it anyway. Avoiding hugs proved more difficult; Fred would sneak up on her and hug from behind, putting his chin on her shoulder. Victoria always smiled in spite of herself when he did this though. She usually let him stay like that for a minute, but then would make some excuse about needing to meet Angelina or Katie and take off.

The night of the Yule Ball, Victoria, Katie and Angelina were up in the dorm, helping each other get ready. Victoria had been responsible for everybody's make-up, Angelina fixed everybody's hair, and Katie adjusted dresses and handed out accessories. Victoria decided they made a good team on and off the Quidditch field.

Katie had been dressed in a lovely pink halter dress that ended just above her knees. Angelina had fixed her hair simply in a high ponytail, but curled the ends of it and left pieces of her hair to frame her pretty face. Victoria had used a pale pink shadow for her eyes, a sparkly rose kind of color on her cheeks, and a clear, yet shimmery, gloss on her lip. Katie finished herself off with strappy pink sandals, gorgeous earrings (it almost looked as if diamond waterfalls dripped off her earlobes), and a sliver bangle bracelet on her left wrist, drawing attention to her newly manicured nails.

Angelina was a vision of royalty in a long, elegant purple gown, which had a V-neck style top. Her hair style was also simple, a bun, but it looked very nice, adding to the elegance. Victoria gave her dramatic eyes, using a dark brown eyeliner and a shimmery bronze kind of shadow; she used a very light shade of pinkish-bronze blush, and pale pink colored lips. Katie loaned her a diamond choker and matching stud earrings. Her nails gleamed after the manicure Katie had given her. Angelina then slipped into a pair of black heels.

Victoria had selected an aquamarine spaghetti strap dress that fluttered around her knees. Angelina had pulled her back into a French braid for her. Victoria used a light tan eye shadow, which complemented her eyes nicely; she used the same pinkish-bronze blush she had used on Angelina; and finally put a matching pink-bronze gloss over her lips. Katie had found her a lovely little necklace; it had a thin gold chain and a tiny diamond set in it. Katie also lent her some small gold hoop earrings. Victoria put on her chocolate colored heels as her final touch.

After they were all done getting ready, Victoria started to put a hand to her mouth, intending to chew on a fingernail nervously. Katie, however, smacked away the newly manicured hand.

"Don't do that, Tori!" Katie said exasperated, not wanting her work ruined so soon.

"Sorry," Victoria said. "I'm just nervous."

"Tori, you look stunning! Fred is going to love it," Angelina said reassuringly.

"That's what I'm worried about."

"What do you mean?" Katie frowned.

Victoria sighed. "Fred and I are supposed to be going as friends." Again, she had said this mostly for her own benefit. She wasn't happy when Katie and Angelina started laughing out loud.

"Sorry," Angelina said, noticing Victoria's expression. "It's just funny you thought it was a just-friends date. Fred is crazy about you. It's so obvious."

"And it's so cute," Katie added. "Don't you like him, Tori?"

"I...I don't know..." she said, biting her glossed lip in thought. Her stomach churned nervously. "He's my best friend. I don't want to jinx it."

Angelina put a comforting arm around Victoria's shoulder.

"Just relax," she said. "Don't worry about it so much tonight. Just have fun."

Victoria forced a smile for her. "Alright."

"That's my girl!"

"Picture time!" Katie suggested pulling out her camera.

She set it up on top of the dresser and the girls huddled together. Before Victoria knew it, the timer went off and so did the flash. Spots danced before her eyes and then she blinked them away. Katie grabbed her camera and the three of them went downstairs to meet their dates.

Fred, Lee, and Dean were standing down stairs. George had gone to meet Renee at her dorm, and Harry and Ron stood in the corner with their dates, the Patil twins. When Fred, Lee, and Dean saw the girls, their jaws dropped.

"You look fantastic!" Lee said as Angelina joined him.

"Thank you," she said beaming.

"Wow," was all Dean had been able to say to Katie, who giggled her appreciation.

Victoria nervously walked over to Fred, who took her hand before she could protest.

"You're beautiful," Fred said.

"Thank you," Victoria said, smiling at him.

"Picture!" Katie insisted again, motioning for the other two couples to join her and Dean. She handed the camera to a third year as everybody got ready. The boys all wrapped an arm around their date's shoulders and the girls turned slightly to hug her guy around the waist. Butterlies flew around angrily in Victoria's stomach during this. After a couple snaps of this pose, Victoria glanced over at Harry and Ron.

"Harry, Ron, bring your dates over for a picture," she said.

"I don't want any evidence of me wearing this hideous thing," Ron said, motioning to his lacy dress robes. His date looked slightly embarrassed.

Victoria rolled her eyes.

"Well, lets get going," Dean suggested.

All of the couples walked together to the Great Hall, which looked very beautiful for the event. Harry and his date disappeared after being bombared by Professor McGonagall.

Soon, the festivities started. Mostly everybody had been dancing or eating, but then there were some (like Ron) who sat firmly in their seats. Victoria had opted for eating, to put off dancing for a while.

But even Fred got full eventually. When he did, he turned to Victoria and started to say something, but Ron magically appeared at Victoria's shoulder. She gave an inner sigh of relief before turning to Ron.

"Tori...do you wanna dance with me?" Ron asked. "I mean, if Fred doesn't mind..."

Victoria turned her attention back to Fred, who had been glowering at Ron.

"Fine," he said.

"Just one dance," Victoria assured him.

"Yeah, okay."

Fred didn't look very happy as Victoria got up from the table and went to dance with Ron. When they got out on the dance floor, Ron awkwardly put his hands on Victoria's waist as she easily slipped her arms around his neck. As they danced, Ron blushed and tried not to step on Victoria's toes. Victoria felt a surge of affection for him, but that was it. She had noticed there weren't any sparks or butterflies...it was just...sweet little Ron. Maybe he was just a conveient distraction. Victoria sighed.

"I'm sorry," Ron said quickly, thinking he may have done something wrong.

"Oh, no, Ronnie, you're fine," Victoria said. "It's just..."

"This wouldn't work? You and me, I mean?" He didn't sound upset. He sounded like he kind of saw it coming. But his freckled face looked disappointed.

Victoria shook her head slowly. "No, I'm afraid not."

"It's Fred, isn't it?"

Victoria felt herself blush under her make-up at the mention of Fred's name. "I suppose you could say that."

Ron nodded a little. "It makes sense I guess."

"But, I am flattered that you thought of me highly enough to ask me to the Ball a few weeks ago. It was nice." This made Ron smile a bit and she went on. "Look, trust me, you are a great guy, Ronald Weasley. You're kind, you're funny, you're cute, you are fiercely loyal...which is what I adore most about you and makes me very glad that we're friends...you'll find someone special soon, I know it."

He seemed to have brightened considerably. "Thanks, Tori."

"Anytime."

The song ended and Victoria hugged him tightly in a sisterly fashion. Ron reciprocated the hug and went back to find Harry as Victoria went back to the table to sit with Fred, George and Renee. It was the first time she had seen George and Renee that night.

"Renee, I love your dress," Victoria said. "It's marvelous!"

"Thanks," Renee said grinning. It was a light green halter dress kind of like Katie's. "You look great too."

"Thanks," Victoria said and spun around once to watch the skirt of her dress spin. Renee laughed.

"Tor, can we go talk?" Fred asked, standing up from the table.

"Yeah...sure."

Fred reached out and took Victoria's hand, leading her outside into the garden. There were a few couples sitting on benches or standing in the corners snogging. Victoria happened to notice one couple sitting by the fountain. It was Cedric Diggory from Hufflepuff and this fourth year girl Shiloh, also from Hufflepuff. Shiloh had been sitting in his lap and Cedric had his arms wrapped around her, holding her close.

'They're quite cute together,' Victoria couldn't help but think as she and Fred past them.

They finally stopped among a rose bush. It was a very colorful one too. There were red roses, pink roses, yellow, white, even purple. It was truly stunning.

"Why have you been pulling away from me lately?" Fred asked suddenly.

Victoria stood confused for a moment. "What?"

"You won't let me hold your hand...you won't sit close to me...you practically jumped at the chance to go dance with Ron..."

"I promised him a dance weeks ago. He invited me to the ball after you did."

"I just want to know why...why you don't want to be with me."

"Fred, you're being ridiculous! You're my best friend, I'm always with you."

"Tor, you've been distant. You've practically been running from me. Why?" Fred looked almost sad. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No..." Victoria whispered. She hated seeing him like that.

"Then what's going on? Please, tell me."

Victoria studied the cobble stoned ground intently. "Because...because I'm scared..."

"Scared? Of what?" He sounded surprised. It clearly wasn't the answer he had been expecting.

"Of how I feel about you..." she said very softly.

A moment later, Fred's shoes were covering the cobble stone she had been studying. He took her hand. He put his other hand under her chin, and gently lifted her head up. His eyes were full of curiosity and something else that she couldn't quite identify.

"And how do you feel about me?" His voice was oddly soft. Calm.

"Lately...everytime you hold my hand, or hug me, or sit next to me...I get nervous, butterflies in my stomach...and it's not entirely a bad thing but..." Fred waited for her to continue. "You're my best friend. I can't do it...I can't complicate our friendship that way."

"We did fourth year," Fred reminded her.

"And we broke up!"

"But you said it yourself. I'm your best friend. I always had been. It hasn't changed. And it won't change."

"How do you know? What if we decided to get together, broke up in a few months and we weren't friends anymore? I couldn't handle that...I couldn't..." Victoria had started getting tears in her eyes, but blinked them back.

"Victoria, listen to me." He had her full attention then. He never called her 'Victoria'. Ever. He only used her full name when he was being serious about something, which wasn't often. "We will always, always be friends. You mean too much to me to let anything ruin our friendship."

Victoria stood stunned for a minute. "Fred..."

"Wait, I'm not done. I know we had tried the dating thing before. But we were younger and stupid to let people get the better of us. We've grown up since then." Victoria bit back the urge to ask when exactly he had grown up and why he didn't send her that memo. Now was definitely not the time for jokes. "Just...let's give another try. I think we can make it last this time. I love you, Victoria. I always have."

With that, Fred leaned in closer to Victoria, his lips a half inch away from hers. Their breath mingled together and Victoria felt her heart speed up. He kissed her gently, tentatively and suddenly Victoria was dizzy and her legs felt like jelly. She clung to Fred to keep her balance and he wrapped his arms around her waist. Victoria was terrified, but it felt so good. This just felt...right. Almost too soon Fred pulled away from her and looked in her eyes. She noted this time, that his eyes had been full of love all the time. She had been too blind to see it.

"Well? What do you say?" he asked.

"I love you too," Victoria said, pulling his face back down to hers.

There was no resisting anymore.

Please review!! I'd like at least three before I post chapter five, but remember---the more reviews I get, the quicker chapter five goes up. :)

Love, DontAvadaSnuffles


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

A/N: So I kinda changed the end of Goblet of Fire a bit. Haha. But I just couldn't bring myself to leave Cedric dead. Hope you like this chapter!!

Oh, and characters I own: Victoria Wallace, Renee, Shiloh, Rebecca (Becca), Jennifer & Donovan Wallace.

P.S.-- Thank you times a lot for the reviews and encouragement so far! It makes me so happy. )

Enjoy!

After the Yule Ball, time seemed to accelerate in a maddening fashion. Victoria and Fred had spent every waking moment together, and were practically joined at the lips. Except of course when Fred and George would hide away and create new experiments. They always kept the girls and Lee informed of their progress, but figured it best they be alone when inventing. And somehow George and Fred accquired quite a bit of money to start up their joke shop. They would not reveal their mysterious benefactor to anybody though. They said it was highly classified information.

Before Victoria had realized it, the school year had ended. The only downside to school being out for the summer holiday was the year ended on a truly alarming note. You-Know-Who had returned. Harry had said that the Triwizard Cup had taken him and Cedric Diggory to a graveyard and that there was a battle. He had been too shaken up to say much more than that to Victoria and she didn't press him. She had just been so glad that he and Cedric Diggory made it back alive. (Shiloh had been especially grateful about Cedric. She ran out onto the field and hugged him and kissed him without caring who was watching.)

However anxious the students were about this new development in the wizarding world, they tried to forget about it and enjoy their time on the way back to King's Cross. Renee, George, Lee, Fred and Victoria shared a compartment. Renee and George held hands the entire time, ocassionally kissing, while Fred and Victoria had a hard time keeping their lips off each other. Lee cleared his throat loudly a couple of times, seeing as he had been sitting next to them, it made him slightly uncomfortable.

"Sorry, Lee," Victoria said, blushing a bit.

"That's okay, but try to cool it will you? I almost thought about using the Augamenti charm on you," Lee said, half-jokingly.

Fred laughed. "We need to get you a girlfriend, mate."

"You know...there is somebody I could introduce you to," Renee said. "I think you'd like her."

"Really?" Lee asked, perking up a bit.

"Yeah, let me go find her." Renee untangled her hand from George's, who had been reluctant to let her go. "I'll be right back," she promised. She kissed George on the cheek before exiting the compartment.

Fred started to kiss Victoria again before there was a muttered, "Augamenti!" A stream of water hit Fred in the side of his head, and spalshed Victoria.

"Sorry, Tori," George said. "Just meant to hit Fred on that."

Fred glowered at him. "What was that for?"

"If I can't kiss Renee now, you can't kiss Victoria. Only fair."

Fred rolled his eyes. "She'll be back in less than five minutes you, git."

"Freddie, let's just cool it for a bit, okay?" Victoria said.

"Yeah, alright," he mumbled.

Victoria laughed a little.

A few minutes later, Renee returned with a lovely fifth-year Hufflepuff. She was tall, about five foot seven, Victoria guessed. Her blond hair fell to her shoulders in curls, and her bright green eyes sparkled like her smile. Lee looked entranced already.

"Lee Jordan, this is my friend Rebecca Cole. Becca, this is my friend, Lee," Renee introduced.

"Nice to meet you," Becca said cheerfully, holding out a hand.

"Li-li-likewise," Lee stammed, shaking her hand.

Becca giggled. "Do you wanna take a little walk around? See if there's a quieter compartment to talk in?"

"Sure!" Lee jumped up. With a quick wave to the other four, he exited the compartment.

Renee beamed, proud of her matchmaking capabilities.

"Wow, way to go, 'Nay," Victoria said.

"Thank you, thank you." She bowed from her seat next to George.

They didn't see Lee or Becca the for the rest of the journey.

When they arrived at King's Cross Station, Platform 9-3/4, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley were there, and Victoria's parents, Donovan (who owned a second-hand shop in Diagon Alley) and Jennifer (who taught third grade at a muggle school). Mrs. Weasley hugged and kissed all of her children coming off the train; Victoria, Harry, Hermione, and Renee included. Mrs. Weasley had welcomed them all into the family with open arms.

"Aww, Mum..." Fred complained, disengaging his hand from Victoria's to wipe a lipstick mark off his cheek.

Victoria giggled and ran to her parents. "Mum! Dad!"

They shared a group hug when she reached them.

"How was your ride back?" her mother asked.

"It was nice," Victoria said. "We seem to have lost Lee somewhere though..." She told them about Renee's hand at matchmaking and her parents laughed.

"Sounds like Renee knows what she's doing," her father said.

"Yes she does," Victoria said, and then sighed. She was happy to see her parents again, but was disappointed about being seperated from Fred for any extended length of time. "Well, I guess I'd better go say goodbye to everybody."

"You won't have to until later tonight."

"Arthur and Molly invited us for dinner," Jennifer said.

"Oh, wonderful!" Victoria said excitedly.

"And we promise not to spy when your snogging with Fred goodnight," Donovan said with a wink.

Victoria blushed. "Daaad!"

He laughed. "Sorry."

They had gathered up all of Victoria's possessions and met everybody over at the Burrow.

The summer holiday had been quite fun, for the most part. Victoria, Renee, Hermione, Lee, and the Weasley children spent most of it together. Lee brought Becca when he could, and they were almost as sickeningly cute as he had accused George and Renee and Fred and Victoria of being. They hiked around in the forest, Ron screaming and hiding behind Hermione if he saw a spider; they swam in a pool that Jennifer brought and let Arthur help set up. (It wasn't everyday he got to assemble a muggle pool.) Renee, Lee, and Victoria even went with Fred and George to Diagon Alley a few times. They were scouting out a perfect location for Weasley's Wizard Wheezes, their long desired joke shop. However, since this whole business with You-Know-Who had started, everybody seemed to be on edge. Mad-Eye was around more often, as were Tonks and Lupin. Mr. and Mrs. Weasley disappeared every now and then. They had to assume something was up when Bill had come home, saying he transferred back from Egypt.

Nobody really questioned Bill's return though, not right away anyhow. They were all very excited to see him again. When Bill first walked through the door to the Burrow, Victoria was second only to Mrs. Weasley in greeting him. As soon as he had untangled himself from his mother, Victoria jumped at Bill, hugging him tightly.

Bill laughed, hugging her back. "Hi, Tori."

"It's so good to see you! I missed you!" Victoria said.

"I missed you too, kid." When he and Victoria let go of each other, she punched him in the arm. Bill just laughed. "What was that for?"

"You said you'd write to me." Victoria pouted.

"Oh...right. I just got really busy out there. You know it gets."

"I suppose."

"But, I am back home now. We'll have to hang out."

Victoria brightened. "That sounds fun."

Bill grinned and messed up her hair before going on to say to the rest of his friends and family.

Later on that week, Victoria and Renee started seeing less and less of the Weasleys. Nobody really told them anything. The last time they saw the twins was at the Burrow. They had been sitting outside under the stars. George had pulled Renee into his lap, holding her close and Fred had settled for Victoria leaning against his shoulder and had his arms wrapped around her.

"We're gonna be gone for a while," George said to Renee.

"Where are you going?" she asked curiously, while Victoria wondered the same thing.

"Top secret, classified information," Fred said.

"Which means you'll tell us later?" Victoria asked.

"Of course," Fred and George said together.

The girls laughed.

"We'll see you again on September first," George said.

"But that's another month and a half away," Renee said, pouting.

"Yeah, I know but--"

"--it'll go fast," Fred promised.

"It better," Victoria said.

"George! Fred! Come inside!" Mrs. Weasley called.

"I guess that's our cue to hit the road."

"Unfortunately," Fred said.

The four of them stood up. George kissed Renee goodbye and then, since she had already passed her Apparation test, she Apparated home. George sighed and went back into the house, leaving Fred and Victoria alone. Fred wrapped his arms around her waist as Victoria wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Will you send me an owl every now and then, just so I know you haven't forgotten about me or anything?" Victoria asked.

Fred laughed. "Trust me, I won't be forgetting you anytime soon. But I will try to send you an owl once in a while, okay?"

"Alright." Victoria smiled and kissed him. No matter how many times Victoria kissed Fred, they were always similiar to their first. She would get a rush from the soap and licorice scent of his and get lightheaded, but she loved it. It gave her all the more reason to hold onto him tighter, and it made Fred pull her closer, to steady her. When they finally parted, it left her breathless. She was going to miss this dearly.

"I love you, Tor," Fred told her with that famous smile of his.

"I love you, too."

"Fred, don't make me tell you again!" Mrs. Weasley yelled.

"Apparently my presence is requested..." Fred quickly kissed Victoria once more. "Bye." He ran inside the Burrow.

Victoria sighed. Since she had yet to pass her Apparation test, she walked the short distance back to her home.

On September first, Victoria and Renee stood on Platform 9-3/4, scanning the crowd for any sign of red hair. They had spent their remaining summer hanging out together, and while they had a blast, they couldn't wait to see their boyfriends again.

"Hey, I think I see Ginny," Renee said, standing on her tip toes.

Sure enough, the youngest Weasley came into view. She looked happy.

"Hey, Ginny," Victoria said happily. While she did miss Fred most, she had missed all the Weasleys dearly. It was good to see Ginny again.

"Hi, Tori. Hi, Renee," Ginny greeted.

The three of them had exchanged small talk briefly, and then Ginny spotted a friend and took off. Ron, Harry, and Hermione had walked past them, but they had been so heavily involved in conversation that they didn't even notice Victoria or Renee.

Renee rolled her eyes and muttered something that sounded like, "Oh those three..."

And then the twins came into view.

"Fred!" Victoria shouted the same time Renee yelled "George!"

The boys laughed as the girls rushed them, hugging them and kissing them.

"So did you miss us?" George asked.

Renee laughed. "No, not at all. What makes you think we did?"

Victoria smiled up at Fred, who smiled back, and then she hit him in the arm.

"Hey! What gives?" Fred said frowning and rubbing his arm.

"You said you would send me owls. What is it with you Weasley boys always forgetting to write?" Victoria said, pouting.

"I didn't forget. I wanted to write, Tor, I really did. But Mum said we weren't allowed to send or recieve very much. She said it could give away our location."

"Location for what exactly?"

"We'll tell you on the train..."

Fred remained true to his word. Once the twins, Victoria, Renee, and Lee (and now Becca, of course), were in their own compartment, Fred and George told them everything about the Order of the Phoenix.

"Things are getting bad, aren't they?" Becca said quietly.

"'Fraid so," George said grimly.

The six of them sat in silence for what seemed like forever, then Ron and Hermione walked right past their compartment. Ron turned slightly to wave, and Hermione, looking completely exasperated, grabbed his sleeve and pulled him along.

"What's going on with them?" Victoria wondered.

George snorted and Fred rolled his eyes.

"They're probably patrolling the cooridors," Fred said. "They both made prefect."

"Really?" Renee said.

"Yup," was all George said on the subject.

"Well I think it's wonderful," Victoria said proudly.

"Oh no...don't you start gushing like Mum did," Fred said. "It was disgusting enough the first time."

It was Victoria's turn to roll her eyes. "I'm just saying that it's wonderful. I won't say anymore."

"Thank you."

The rest of journey was more relaxed, and Fred and George resumed their duties of entertaining once again.

By the time they arrived at Hogwarts, everybody had been thoroughly tired from the journey, but somehow feeling wide awake (and also quite hungry), excited for the Sorting and the splendid start-of-the-year feast. As usual, each house heartily welcomed their new first years with cheers and pats on the back as they took their seats. This always put the first years a little more at ease. Victoria had a soft spot for all the first years and generally took care of the ones in the Gryffindor house. She always did have a strong maternal instinct; Victoria smiled a bit as she thought back all those years ago when she first met the Weasleys, and how she had looked after Ron and Ginny. Before she realized it, the Sorting was over and mounds of food cluttered the tables.

Once everybody had their fill of pumpkin juice and lots of good food, Dumbledore had started his usual speech. He welcomed back Professor Grubbly-Plank, who would be teaching Care of Magical Creatures again---Victoria wondered briefly what happened to Hagrid, she always had liked him---and he introduced Professor Umbridge, the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor.

"She's going to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts?" Victoria whispered disbelievingly to Fred, who laughed.

"She doesn't look like she'll be able to handle it, does she?" Fred whispered back.

Then, something happened. Professor Umbridge interrupted Dumbledore mid-speech. It went eerily quiet for a moment, especially at the staff table. Nobody looked particularly thrilled, especially Professor McGonagall.

"Is she mad?" Renee whispered across George to Victoria.

"She must be," Victoria whispered back as Professor Umbridge began her own little speech.

Umbridge's words had little effect on most of the students. She bored most of them, while some snickered to each other about that hideous pink cardigan she was wearing. When Umbridge concluded her speech, a few students clapped half-heartedly. Dumbledore politely thanked her and continued his speech like nothing unusual happened. Ron, Harry, and Hermione had been sitting close enough to Victoria for her to hear Hermione tell them something she found most unsettling.

"The Ministry is interferring at Hogwarts."

Victoria's stomach churned with worry. This year was sure to be interesting. Very interesting.

There you have it...Chapter 6 is just waiting to be posted, so please review!! (Chapter 6 is being held for a ransom of at least three reviews. And I've recently discovered that my settings had anonymous reviews disabled, but I have changed that...so if it's kept you from reviewing before, don't hold back now!)

Love,

DontAvadaSnuffles


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Victoria, Renee, Fred, George, and Lee had extremely similar course schedules this year. (Since Becca was a sixth year this year, they didn't have any classes with her.) The only difference was Victoria and Renee had decided to take Care of Magical Creatures again, while the boys decided to take Divination for an easy grade.

Victoria and Renee had rolled their eyes at them.

"Why on earth would you want to sit in Divination?" Renee asked. "Professor Trelawney is frightfully dull."

"And full of---" Victoria started, but was cut off by Lee.

"It's so easy," he said. "You can just make stuff up. She'd never know the difference."

"You're a hopeless lot," Renee said. "Doing what you can to escape real work."

"Yeah, taking care of flobberworms is a real challenge."

"Okay, okay, settle down," George said stepping between Renee and Lee. "Girls, you go on to Care of Flobberworms---"

"Care of Magical Creatures!" Renee said defensively.

"Right, sorry. Magical Creatures, sorry, baby." George knew how important it was to Renee. "We will go to Divination and meet you in Defense Against the Dark Arts."

Victoria groaned. "In the past Defense Against the Dark Arts has been an interesting class. But with this Umbridge woman as the new professor..."

"Don't worry your pretty little head about Umbridge," Fred said. "We'll deal with that when we have to."

Victoria nodded a little. She and Renee had said goodbye to the boys and headed out to the Care of Magical Creatures class.

"I can't believe Lee sometimes," Renee fumed. "Why must he always talk against Care of Magical Creatures?"

It always upset Renee when things like this happened. Renee wanted to make a career out of the subject. She had been fascinated with them for as long as she could remember. Whenever Charlie Weasley came to visit, she always had questions about his caring for dragons. However, she wanted to specialize in hippogriffs and unicorns.

"You can't let that prat get to you," Victoria said. "He just doesn't get it. He never has been an animal person."

"Well that's easy for you to say. He never scoffs at your dream."

Victoria's desired profession was to be a nurse, primarily in a children's hospital.

"Just ignore him," was Victoria's advice.

"Yeah, I guess," Renee muttered.

Renee's mood brightened considerably when they arrived at their class. Professor Grubbly-Plank had decided to start with unicorns, which pleased Renee (and all of the other girls) to no end.

Victoria had mixed feelings as Care of Magical Creatures came to an end. She was happy to be seeing Fred again, but she was dreading sitting in Umbridge's class. Victoria had never even been in the class yet and already this professor grated on her nerves. She couldn't really put her finger on why. Of course, Harry, Ron, and Hermione (among other students) grumbling about her class the previous day didn't inspire a lot of confidence.

When the girls got to the Defense Against the Dark Arts Class, Victoria sat between Lee and Fred while Renee sat next to George, as far away from Lee as she could. She was still a bit angry with him. However, Victoria knew it would be history by lunch time. Nobody in their little cluster could ever stay mad at each other long. The chattering around them stopped as the stout woman clad in hideous shades of pink walked up the front of the room.

"Hem, hem," she said, clearing her throat a bit. "Before we start our Ministry-approved lesson, I would like to clear up something. Now I know there have been rumors about He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named..."

Lee snorted. "Really? I hadn't noticed," he mumbled to Victoria.

Umbridge glared at him before continuing.

"Let me reassure you, He-Who-Must-Be-Named is not back. I'm sure Harry Potter believes it...but he is wrong."

"Harry Potter is not a liar!" Victoria said, unable to contain herself. How dare this woman talk against one of Victoria's friends? Umbridge clearly did not understand that it was probably one of the worst things you could do in front of Victoria.

Umbridge went ridgid and Victoria could feel Fred tense next to her, ready to defend if necessary. Lee just snickered at Umbridge's reaction.

"Excuse me, dear," Umbridge said as sweetly as she could. "You must be mistaken."

"I am not mistaken. Harry Potter is not a liar. He wouldn't lie about something as big as this."

"He may have been delusional at the time...or just seeking attention...quite sad really."

"If there's one thing he doesn't need to seek it's attention!" Victoria was steadily getting angrier. "How dare you say those things about him? You don't even know him!"

"And you do?" Umbridge said stiffly.

"Harry Potter is my friend!" Victoria shouted, standing up quickly and knocking her ink, quill, and parchment to the floor. "If he says V-V-Voldemort" --- she forced herself to say the name--- "is back, then I believe him! Harry is one of the most brave and honest people I ever met! What gives you that right to drag his name through the mud?"

"Detention! See me after class!"

Victoria glared at Umbridge and slowly sat back down as books floated to the desks.

"Want me to take care of her?" Fred whispered, reaching for his wand.

"No."

"Tor--"

"I said no. I'll deal with it."

Fred reluctantly left his wand in his robe pocket and opened Defense Against the Dark Arts: For Beginners.

After class, Victoria went up to Umbridge's desk alone. It took some convincing to get the twins, Renee, and Lee to leave though. They were all ready to pounce in defense of Harry and Victoria.

"You wanted to see me, Professor?" Victoria said through gritted teeth.

"What is your name, dear?" Umbridge asked in that falsely sweet tone of hers.

"Victoria Wallace."

"Miss Wallace, it would like you report to my office promptly at eight o'clock this evening."

"Yes, Professor."

And at exactly eight o'clock that night, Victoria found herself pounding on the door.

"Come in," Umbridge called sweetly.

Victoria grimaced as she pushed open the door. She had to repress a twitch as she surveyed the office. The walls were splashed a medicinal shade of pink. There were ceramic kittens and collectable plates (also adorned with kittens) lined the walls. The final touch were the doilies and flowers laid around the office.

'Surely no self-respecting Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher would do this to their office?' Victoria thought to herself as she took a seat at the desk in front of Umbridge's. A piece of parchment awaited her. Lines obviously.

"You are going to write lines for me," Umbridge informed Victoria as she stood up and walked over.

'Duh,' Victoria thought.

"I want you to use this quill." Umbridge placed a black quill upon the desk. Victoria glanced up at her questioningly. "You won't be needing any ink," Umbridge said at once, as if she recently answered this.

"What am I writing?" Victoria asked.

"I will show respect. And as many times as I deem necessary."

Sighing, Victoria started writing. As she did, she felt a sudden, sharp pain on in her right hand. She winced and saw that the quill had started cutting into her hand, and that the ink on the parchment was bright red. Umbridge looked at her smugly, which infuritated Victoria. She kept her head down and kept writing, no matter bad the pain.

After that detention, she didn't talk about it with anybody. However, when she heard Hermione ask how Harry's detention had gone earlier he told Hermione he didn't want to talk about it. Victoria silently sympathized. Umbridge had decided to continue Victoria's punishment every night that week. On the fifth night of her sentence, Victoria's hand had been permanently scarred and bled freely. She dug tissues out of her robe pocket and put pressure on her hand as she stomped back up to Gryffindor tower.

When she got to the portait of the Fat Lady, she muttered the password and went inside.

"That Umbridge is the most vile woman to ever walk this planet!" Victoria said angrily sitting on the couch, cradling her hand and trying to stopped the bleeding. Her hand hurt the worst tonight, and she didn't care who saw it now.

"What happened?" Renee asked, frowning. She glanced down at Victoria's hands. "What's wrong with your hand?"

Victoria removed the blood sodden tissues and Renee gasped.

"Yeah, I know," Victoria muttered.

"Let me see if I can find anything for you to soak it in." Renee jumped off the couch and went in search of medicene.

At almost that same moment, Fred dropped onto the couch next to her.

"Hey, Tor. Whoa, what happened to your hand?" He asked as he grabbed her hand. Victoria winced a little. She noticed Fred's face had gone from looking quite happy, to looking grim. "Did _she_ do this to you?" There was venom in Fred's voice as he said "she". That scared Victoria a little. She had never heard Fred sound so angry with anybody before.

"Yeah," was all Victoria said.

Renee came back with a bowl of essence of murtlap.

"Soak your hand in this; it'll make it better," she said.

Victoria removed the reddened tissues and stuck her injured hand in the calming solution. Renee was right; it was already starting to feel better.

If only Fred would stop looking so angry...


	7. Chapter 7

A/N---Please forgive the long pause in updates...I didn't forget about this story! I appreciate all the reviews and author alerts and the like. It makes me very happy! And I hope that this over do update makes you happy too. Enjoy!

Chapter 7

After the night Victoria had shown Renee and Fred her scarred hand, she started wearing scarlett and gold fingerless gloves. (Everytime Fred saw the scar, he'd get a very angry look in his eye, so Victoria thought it best to keep it covered.) The detentions with Umbridge had come to an end, however, Defense Against the Dark Arts classes were exceedingly uncomfortable. Umbridge was as horrible as ever, but what was worse was to feel the hatred emanating from Fred. In fact, it was more sheer loathing for the woman that had caused Fred to snap a couple of quills during class. Victoria didn't sit next to George so she didn't know if it was the same with him. She asked Renee one day after class.

"I sit between them," Renee said. "I feel it on both sides. It's unnerving how two such happy guys can hate like that."

Something had to be done. They all needed an outlet. They also needed to feel like they were learning something. Lupin and Moody-the-Imposter actually taught them, made them feel involved. Umbridge made them feel like 5-year-olds, just copying things down. She said they had to learn the basics.

What was so important about basics when you could fend of a boggart and knew all of the Unforgivable Curses?

Luckily enough for them, an outlet was soon offered. Renee, Victoria, the twins, Lee, and Becca were sitting by the lake on a Saturday morning, just realxing and enjoying the day when Hermione approached them.

"Hi, Hermione," Victoria said smiling.

"Hello," Hermione said, smiling back.

"What's up?" Lee asked. It was more than politeness on his part. It was curiosity too. Hermione was almost always with Ron and Harry so it was rare she came to talk to them on her own.

"I actually wanted to talk to you about something."

"Well, have a seat," Renee invited, scooting over on the blanket she had brought for everybody to sit on.

"Thanks." Hermione sat on the spot Renee left open for her.

"What's on your mind, Hermione?" Fred asked curiously.

"Well, as I'm sure you are aware, Umbridge is a horrid teacher," she started.

"All too aware," George said.

"She knows nothing about Defense Against the Dark Arts," Hermione continued. "We need somebody with experience on the subject."

"What are you driving at?" Lee asked.

"We get ourselves a new teacher."

"And how do we do that?" Becca asked.

"Who'd you have in mind?" Victoria asked. Hermione wouldn't have brought this conversation to them if she hadn't already thought it through.

"Harry," Hermione said simply. "He's fought off Dementors, he's fought You-Know-Who...he'd be the perfect teacher."

"That's brilliant!" Fred and George said in unison.

Renee looked thoughtful. "I could see it. Harry would be a good teacher."

"Yeah, he would," Victoria agreed.

"The next Hogsmeade weekend, I'm organzing a meeting to be held at The Hog's Head to discuss this idea," Hermione said.

"The Hog's Head?" Becca repeated, a little wary.

"It's completely within the allowed places to go. And nobody goes there, so we won't be overheard. Anyway, I haven't talked about this with Harry yet. I just wanted to see how much interest I could get, and then we'll all talk to him. Can I count you all in?"

"We're in," George and Fred said together.

"Me too," Lee said.

"Of course I'm in," Victoria said.

"Same here," Renee said.

"Alright, I'm in," Becca said.

Hermione smiled. "Wonderful! I'll get back to you with a specific time for the meeting."

With that, Hermione jumped up from her spot and dashed off to see who else she could get to join.

"Boys, hurry up," said Becca impatiently. "We're going to be late for the meeting." Becca had been a little wary about the whole thing to begin with, but she warmed up to the idea. She was as sick of Umbridge's treatment as everyone else.

"Oh relax, Becca," Lee said, shifting his bag of Zonko's merchandise.

Victoria looked at her watch. It was ten minutes til one.

"We should make it in time," Victoria stated.

"See?" Lee said to Becca.

"If you three would walk a little faster," Victoria added.

"We have a lot of stuff to carry," George said.

"And who's fault is that?" Renee asked.

"Oh be quiet, Renee," Fred said.

"Don't tell her to be quiet," George retorted.

Renee stuck her tongue out at Fred, who reciprocated the gesture.

Victoria rolled her eyes and soon they reached the Hog's Head. They were the last ones to walk in. Angelina and Katie were already there. Neville Longbottom, Luna Lovegood, Hannah Abbott, Justin Finch-Fletchley, Ernie Macmillan, Cho Chang, the Creevy brothers, Cedric Diggory and his girlfriend Shiloh, and an assortment of other Hufflepuffs and Ravenclaws were also in attendance. Victoria saw Harry sitting with Ron and Hermione up front, looking completely stunned at the turn-out. Fred took a quick head count after setting down his Zonko's bag and ordered butterbeers for everyone. After everybody had dug up some coins to contribute to the cost of the beverages, Hermione began the meeting.

Hermione started off a bit shaky, clearly nervous, but once she declared Umbridge had a serious lack of teaching abilities, the rest of her opening went much more smoothly. The rest of the meeting followed in the same manner. Most of the people who came, seemed to do so out of sheer curiosity of Harry. One boy, Zacharias Smith, was getting to be particularly annoying in Victoria's opinion. He was skeptical of many of the things Harry had done, and was having trouble believing You-Know-Who had returned. At one point, Ron had snapped at him and then George pulled out a long metal item from his Zonko's bag, as Fred and George were debating where to stick it. After that, things settled down a bit. They hadn't decided on a place to meet yet, but that they would meet once a week when a location was decided. With that, they all signed the parchment Hermione brought. Then Fred, Lee, and George took off because they had "items of a sensitive nature" to buy. Instead of having to follow the boys into more joke stores, Renee, Becca, and Victoria walked around, doing a little shopping of their own before heading back to the school.

A week or so had passed since the meeting at Hog's Head and there hadn't been any word of a meeting place yet. Victoria was worried that they weren't going to go through with the Defense Against the Dark Arts group after all. She was relieved, however, when Hermione came up to her, Renee, and Becca in the hallway.

"Come to the seventh floor tonight at 7:30. Where that tapestry with the trolls is. Let the boys know," she whispered.

"Okay, we will," Renee said.

Hermione smiled and continued down the hall, no doubt to spread the message. Victoria was excited that they finally had a meeting. Now they would finally be able to practice defensive magic again. She would finally be able to feel like she was at least learning something.

True to their word, the girls lead the boys up to the seventh floor at 7:30 that night.

"Well here's the tapestry..." Becca said.

No sooner had she said it, that a large door appeared in the wall. Fred and George grinned at each other.

"The Room of Requirement," they said knowingly.

"Made a great escape from Filch up here once," George said.

"He never did find us," Fred said proudly.

Lee pushed open the door and there was a very large room. On one side there was a tall bookcase, completely filled. Everybody else was already in the room, mingling and waiting for the meeting to start.

"Sure has improved since it was our escape broom closet, eh?" George said in awe of the room.

"Sure has," Fred agreed.

The six of them walked in together and Victoria shut the door behind them. Victoria spotted Hermione checking the signed parchment and looking up every so often, as if silently taking roll. Seeming satisfied, they started the meeting. For those who didn't already know what the room was, Harry explained briefly. As an official start, it was declared by Hermione that they should vote on a leader. It was no surprise that Harry was unanimously elected. They even decided on a name for the group. After vetoing Fred's suggestion ("The Ministry of Magic Are Morons Group"), they decided on Dumbledore's Army, or D.A. for short. Hermione wrote this title on her parchment and put it up on the wall. For the first meeting, Harry suggested working on Expelliarmus. Zacharias grumbled about it at first, but did it anyway. Harry told them to break off into pairs and Lee and Becca partnered up. George and Fred wanted to be partners on this one so Renee and Victoria teamed up.

"Expelliarmus!" Renee shouted, aiming her wand at Victoria. However, Renee overshot some and knocked some books off the shelf. The girls giggled. "Whoops."

"Expelliarmus!" Victoria said loudly, but she too overshot her aim. Instead of hitting the bookshelf though, she knocked Fred's wand out of his hand. He looked around, confused, since George hadn't finished saying the spell yet. "Whoops. Right result, wrong person."

Of course, the rest of the room handn't been doing too much better. Things were flying all over the room and there was a general chaos. However, towards the end of the meeting, under the instruction of Harry, everybody improved a little bit. Victoria had been able to disarm the right person at the end of it all.

"Good job everybody!" Harry said as he dismissed the first meeting of Dumbledore's Army.

For weeks Harry taught them all kinds of new spells and reviewed older ones at each D.A. meeting. They went over the Impediment Jinx, Reductor Curse, Stunning spells, and now Harry was going to teach them something else...something more advanced.

"To conjure a full Patronus, you have to concentrate on the happiest memory you can think of. Let it fill you up," Harry said, walking around the room. He sent encouraging words everybody's way when all they were able to produce was a thin, silvery mist. "Good try. Do it again. You'll get it!"

Victoria closed her eyes and focused as hard as she could on her happiest memory---her kiss with Fred at the Yule Ball. She remembered the gentle look in his eyes, the way he told her that he loved her, how he had kissed her so softly...

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" Victoria shouted.

"Hey, Tori, way to go!" Harry said.

Her eyes snapped open in time to see a swan trail out of her wand, swimming about the room. Her eyes widened in surprise.

"I did it! Fred, I did it!" she said excitedly.

"Good job, Tor," he grinned. "Now if I could just get the hang of it..."

George's Patronus, a chimpanzee, had wandered over to Renee's Patronus, a lemur. They played, and Renee and George got a kick out of it. Becca's Patronus was a parrot, Lee's was a cat. Fred was still struggling with his.

"Close your eyes and concentrate, Fred," Victoria told him. "Really concentrate."

Fred nodded and closed his eyes. He was still and silent for a minute before shouting, "EXPECTO PATRONUM!"

What happened next surprised Victoria.

Fred's Patronus was also a swan. His swan and Victoria's swan swam around, side-by-side. Luna Lovegood, who had been standing near by, smiled at the scene.

"You know they say swans mate for life," she said in that dreamy voice of hers.

Fred and Victoria exchanged smiles as he took her hand. They watched their swans until they faded out together.

Even though the D.A. meetings had been helping blow off a lot of steam and feel they were learning something again, Umbridge still kept getting under everyone's skin. Fred and George spent a lot more time hidden away, inventing. They also had a lot of correspondence with someone via owl post. They didn't really tell the girls anything that was happening.

"We don't want to jinx it," George had told Renee when she asked him about it. The subject was dropped for the time being.

A few weeks after that, George and Fred started spending a lot of time with Renee and Victoria again all of a sudden. The girls did not complain, yet they were curious at the change.

"You'll see," was all the twins would tell them.

Victoria had been studying for her N.E.W.T. Transfiguration exam she heard an explosion. Startled, she ran out of the common room, with other curious students into the hallway. Many more explosions followed and colorful sparks danced in the air. Fireworks. The twins sent up their fireworks. Victoria shook her head, laughing. The fireworks had set off a chain of more mischief for the next few days. They had left a Portable Swamp upstairs and let some more of their products run rampant through the halls.

But then when Umbridge threated her revenge, something she did not expect happened. They stood up to her. They had decided that they were done with their formal education and called for their brooms, which came to them in an instant. As they gave their mini-speech about taking off Fred said, "If anyone fancies buying a Portable Swamp, as demonstrated upstairs, come to number ninety-three, Diagon Alley---Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes! Our new premises!"

Victoria and Renee turned to each other wide eyed.

"They did it!" Renee said in amazement, turning her eyes back up to the boys.

George offered a discount to any student who intended to torture Umbridge with their purchases, and Fred instructed Peeves to give Umbridge hell. With that, they flew off with people clapping and cheering loudly, but none as loud as Victoria and Renee.

This quote taken directly from Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling. That one quote NOT mine. Just so we're clear. :)

Don't forget to review!! (Reviews make me update faster.) :)


	8. Chapter 8

I can't believe the last time I updated this story was February! Forgive me, I don't what took me so long.

I'll try not to let it happen again.

Please Review!

Chapter 8

Renee and Victoria were immensely proud of the boys for getting their joke shop up and running but it was very odd not having them around all the time anymore. It was a lot quieter for one, and nobody was yelling "Weasleys!" in an annoyed fashion. However, their Portable Swamp remained upstairs with caution tape around it. Victoria grinned whenever she passed it. At the same time, she did miss Fred quite a bit. This time though, unlike his last extended absence from her, Fred actually sent Victoria an owl every week. George did the same for Renee. It was always nice.

But things at school seemed wrong still. There was a lot of tension in the air. And Victoria was noticing that five Gryffindors were missing. She frowned but thought they might be at the library or something. When she saw Renee later, Renee had mentioned that Luna was nowhere to be found. Renee had taken a great liking to Luna, as everybody else had. Luna did have a certain charm about her.

"You haven't seen Luna?" Victoria asked, starting to worry.

"No...not all day," Renee said.

"I haven't seen Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, or Neville."

"How do five fifth years and one fourth year disappear from under our noses?"

"I don't know...I hope their not doing anything dangerous..."

"Why dangerous? What made you choose dangerous?" Renee had looked worried now.

"Well...Harry, Hermione, and Ron have been kind of anxious lately...they won't tell me whats going on, but I can tell." Victoria bit her lip. "If Neville and Ginny and Luna are with them..."

The rest of the day, Renee and Victoria were very anxious about the safety of their missing friends. They didn't see any of them again until much later that night.

Victoria had been sitting in the common room, unable to sleep, when in stumbled Hermione, Ron, Ginny, and Neville. They were all bleeding from some part of their face, their clothes and hair askew. Victoria jumped up, alarmed, and ran over to them.

"What happened? Where's Harry and Luna? Are you guys alright?"

"We're okay..." Neville said quietly.

"Luna went back to the Ravenclaw tower," Ginny said. Renee would be greatly relieved.

"Harry's with Dumbledore," Ron answered "Sirius is dead."

"Oh no...poor Harry..." Victoria whispered. She herself never knew Sirius, but she knew how much he had meant to Harry. "What happened?"

This is when Hermione started answering questions. She explained about the events of their day. From leaving Umbridge at the mercy (or lack thereof) of the centaurs all the way up until the battle at the Ministry.

Instinctively, she hugged all four of them tightly.

"Easy, Tori..." Ron said wincing slightly.

"I'm sorry. I'm just so relieved you're alive...I was so worried..." She studied them a little closer now, and they were in worse shape than she first noticed. Neville's nose was swollen and bloody, Ginny had been favoring one of her ankles, leaning against Hermione, who was only scratched up. Ron looked like he need to lay down badly. "I'd better get your four to the hospital wing..."

They raised no objections as they left the common room and went down the hall to see Madame Pomfrey. Once Victoria had made sure they were okay for the night, she left the hospital wing. She saw Renee who was leading Luna to Madame Pomfrey as well.

"Renee, I'm okay. Really," said Luna.

"Well I just want to be sure," Renee told her.

"Luna, I'm glad you're alright," Victoria said, pausing to hug Luna.

Luna smiled brightly, despite the horrors that she witnessed earlier.

"Thank you," Luna said.

Victoria smiled a little as Renee continued to usher Luna down the hall. Sighing, Victoria had gone back to Gryffindor tower. When she came to the common room she saw Harry sitting in front of the fire, just staring at it. She sat beside him and he said nothing.

"I heard about Sirius," she said softly. "I'm very sorry..."

Harry nodded a little to acknowledge he heard her. He took off his glasses and quickly wiped at his eyes.

Victoria wrapped an arm around his shoulders and gave him a gentle squeeze.

"If you need to talk to anybody, you know I'm here, right?"

"Yeah. Thanks." Harry's voice was strained. It broke Victoria's heart to see him in so much pain.

"You should get some rest, Harry..."

"Yeah. I guess."

When he didn't make any attempt to move from his spot in front of the fire where he had to talked to Sirius on a couple of occasions, Victoria stood and helped him up. With a final glance at the fire, Harry went up to his room, his eyes on the ground. Victoria sighed and then went up the opposite staircase to her own room.

Soon after the incident at the Ministry, the newspapers were buzzing with the news that You-Know-Who was back and graduation was upon Victoria, Renee, and Lee. All this news made Victoria a little apprehensive about leaving Hogwarts, but she knew there wasn't anything to stop her from graduating. She also hated the fact that she'd be leaving Ron, Hermione, Harry, Ginny, Neville, and Luna behind. Renee wasn't thrilled about it either. Lee, on the other hand, was more worried about leaving Becca behind. The one bright spot to graduation was that Lee, Renee, and Victoria would be able to spend the summer with the twins. The three of them had missed the twins greatly. The girls for the obvious reasons, and Lee mainly because he was the last male left in the circle. He was getting tired of listening to girl talk.

The graduation ceremony itself was very simple and dignified. The two top graduating students gave a speech, followed by Dumbledore. He then proceeded by reading off all the graduates names as the head of their houses handed them their diplomas. When the last student took his diploma and walked off the stage, the dignified air was lost as a huge roar of applause and cheers came from the crowd of friends, parents, and other relatives. The simplicity and order was gone too as there was a mass of people grabbing each other for hugs and photos. In all the madness, Victoria found her mother and father. Normally muggles did not come to Hogwarts, but muggle parents were allowed at graduation, which made Victoria happy. She always had wanted her mother to see her graduate.

"Vicky, we're so proud of you!" her mother said, hugging her tightly.

Victoria grinned, hugging her mother back.

"Thanks, Mum," she said happily.

"Congratulations, kiddo," her dad said, hugging her too and kissed the top of her head.

"Thanks, Daddy."

"We need some pictures," her mother said, taking out her camera. "Donovan, put your arm around Vicky. Vicky, hold up your diploma."

"Yes, Mum," the said simultaneously, following her intructions.

After a couple poses, Donovan took the camera away. 

"Okay, Jenny. A couple pictures of you and the graduate."

The family photoshoot went on for a little bit and then Victoria borrowed the camera, going in search of all of her friends.

By the time she got done saying her goodbyes, Victoria was both relieved and sad. She was relieved because it had been a long day and she just wanted to go celebrate with her family, the Weasleys, and Renee and Lee. But of course she was sad too. Goodbyes were always hard, especially with Hagrid. He cried a lot while hugging everbody in a bone crushing sort of way. He was a sweet guy, but his emotions always got the better of him.

Before long Victoria was back in jeans and a tee-shirt, and at the Burrow. Mrs. Weasley had gone all out decorating for the party. Balloons, streamers, banners and confetti were everywhere. She even got fancy with the food. She made a platter of pigs in a blanket that looked like diplomas, and a cake that looked like a graduation cap. However, Victoria's favorite part was the way the twins were standing in the front yard, waiting for everybody.

Victoria and Renee ran over to the twins, tackling them in hugs. Renee and George fell backwards because George always had poor balance, but they didn't seem to care. They were too busy kissing. Fred, however, not only retained his balance, but picked up Victoria as she kissed him. It had felt so good to be back in his arms.

"Hey, don't make me turn the hose on you four," Lee threatened in the midst of all the reunion kissing.

"Sorry, Lee," Fred said with a laugh after breaking his kiss with Victoria.

'Damn Lee', she thought.

Renee and George got up from the ground, even if Renee was reluctant at first.

"How ya been, Lee? The girls haven't been driving you too nutters have they?" George asked.

"Only slightly," Lee said.

"Hey!" Renee and Victoria said in unison.

"I'm just kidding. I love you girls."

"Hey!" Fred and George shouted together.

"Man, I can't catch a break!" Lee muttered.

The girls and the twins laughed as they all went inside for the party.

That summer and the first year following graduation was a busy one. Victoria spent her time between Weasley's Wizard Wheezes where she helped out now and then, her father's secondhand goods store which was also in Diagon Alley, and school. She was set on studying to become a pediatric nurse. Every once in a while Fred and George would leave for an afternoon on business of the Order of the Phoenix, leaving the girls to run the store. Their meetings seemed to increase in frequency and length over the spring though, and it got worse after Dumbledore was killed. George and Fred wouldn't tell them anything, which drove the girls completely mad. One day, after the shop closed, Fred and George took the girls aside.

"We need you two to take care of the store for a few days," George said.

"For a few days? Where are you going?" Renee asked.

"It's a rescue mission," said Fred.

"A recuse mission?" repeated Victoria.

"Yes," the twins said together.

"And who exactly are you rescuing?" Renee wondered.

"Harry," Fred answered. "Who else needs rescuing lately?"

"Ah. I should have guessed."

"Anyway, will you watch the store for us?"

"Don't we always?" Victoria said.

"A good point," George said. "Thanks. We'll be back in a few days."

"Be careful," Victoria and Renee said together.

"Always," Fred promised them.

They left after that, but upon their return a few days later, George found himself the center of attention. But then again, would any guy with one ear be anything less?

Soon after the expedition that cost George his ear, things in the Order were picking up and working overtime, or so the girls noticed. George went to all of the meetings, but when certain missions came up, he usually stayed out of them. Mostly by request of his mother, and one of the twins needed to be in the store once in a while. Fred seemed to always be gone; there were the meetings and trips and all sorts of other things. The few times Fred was around, he and Victoria fought a lot. Victoria knew that the Order was a great organization and she was proud of him for the things he was doing, but she missed him very much. She wished that he would just stay with her for a while before dashing back out again.

One night, Fred and Victoria had a particularly bad fight. He had just got back from yet another meeting of the Order, looking worn out.

"Baby, maybe you should cut back on all this stuff with the Order..." Victoria said.

"It isn't just 'stuff', Tor. This is really important business," Fred protested.

"I know...but...you're always there or out on business for the Order...aren't you ever going to come spend some time with me again?"

"I do spend time with you."

"Breakfast or meeting for coffee isn't enough, Fred! All I want is a night or two with you. Since when is that so much to ask?"

"Since I've been working in the Order! You knew I'd be busy."

"Yes, I knew you'd be busy, but I expected to at least see you every now and then. The rare time I get to spend with you, you're too tired to do anything. Maybe you should cut back some time. Relax."

"Victoria, I can't relax! And what your asking isn't fair! I'm doing all this to try to help keep everybody safe!"

"There are other people in the Order! Let them do some of the work!"

"They are doing work! Compared to the workload everybody else has, I'm slacking off. Why do you always put us through this conversation, Tor?"

"I just want some time with you where you're a hundred percent with me! Nobody else but us...no Order talking or thinking...that's all I ever hear about anymore..."

"I think you're just being jealous and childish," Fred snapped.

"Excuse me? Since when am I childish? And so what if I am a little jealous? Don't you think I have a right to be? I never see you anymore!"

"You see me right now, don't you?"

"Yes, but we're fighting! We're always fighting because of that stupid Order!"

"The Order isn't stupid! Just shut up, Victoria! Stop being a jealous little bitch!" Fred roared.

Victoria had been stunned into silence. In their fighting recently, Fred had raised his voice to her, but he never bellowed at her like that or called her names. Without another word to Fred, Victoria grabbed her coat from the back room of the shop, and went home to her parents' house. She had been so furious with Fred that she refused to talk to him for three days. On the fourth day after that fight, she heard a tapping against her second story bedroom window. She opened it and looked outside. Fred stood below her with a handful of pebbles.

"What do you want?" Victoria asked icily.

"I'm sorry about our fight, Tor...can we talk? Please?" he asked, dropping the pebbles.

She sighed, her icy stance melting. He did look genuinely sorry.

"Come on up," she called down to him. Mere moments later, Fred had apparated into her room. "What did you want to talk about?"

"I'm sorry about what I said in our last fight, and you're right. We don't see each other as much as either of us would like. And I really hate to say it, but we probably won't for a while--not until all of this You-Know-Who stuff is over."

"But, Fred--"

"Hold on, I'm not finished. I'll make sure we have at least one day a week to spend together though, because I've missed you a lot too." Fred took a little box out of his jacket pocket; it was black and velvety. He fiddled with it before continuing. "I love you, and...when this is all over..." He opened the box, revealing a white gold band with a diamond set in it. "Will you marry me, Victoria?"

Victoria's eyes widened in astonishment and she found herself completely speechless for almost a full minute. Only when Fred started to look really nervous and anxious did she find her voice again.

"Yes, Fred, I will."

For what seemed like the first time in a long while, they smiled at each other, embraced, and kissed. For the first time in a year, Victoria thought that everything would be okay after all.

For a couple of months following the engagement, Fred kept true to his word and he was home once a week to spend time with Victoria. They didn't fight anymore, which was a nice change for them and anybody who had had to listen to it before. After those two months, however, things started getting hectic again. They still didn't fight, but there was a lot of tension between Fred and Victoria. One night, when their date was coming to an end, Fred had to tell Victoria that he wouldn't be around for a while. He and Lee were going on the road with Potterwatch, their secret radio show. At first Victoria started to argue with him, trying to convince him to stay, but not wanting to cause another big fight before he left, she dropped it. Fred promised to come home as soon as possible, assured her things would be over soon.

"Once we're married you'll wish I was gone all the time, because I won't leave you alone," Fred teased.

Victoria laughed. "You better not."

"After this, never again," he said seriously.

Things had gone from bad to worse in a short span of time. People were vanishing left and right; Diagon Alley was turning into a ghost town. There was so much tension and fear in the air, even with a butcher knife one wouldn't have been able to even put a dent in it. Death Eaters seemed to be everywhere and people spoke in fearful whispers. Not only was the wizarding community has a whole in distress, but there was trouble in individual families. In Victoria's family, there was always fighting. Jennifer begged Donovan to stay away from the Order, Donovan would yell something along the lines of "I wouldn't expect a _Muggle_ to understand!" Jennifer tried to keep Victoria from going anywhere, even to the Weasley's home. That was one place Victoria refused stay away from; Mrs. Weasley needed her. Mr. Weasley and Bill were off on business of the Order all the time now, Percy was still being a complete and total git, Ron had left home, Fred was gone with Lee, Charlie was still in Romania, George was always in the shop, and Ginny was still at Hogwarts. That was another thing that had gone downhill--Hogwarts. Ginny and Neville wrote to Victoria when they could--which wasn't very often--and told her what had been happening. Victoria never showed these letters to anyone, especially Mrs. Weasley. They would just worry her more.

A few months into all this chaos, Victoria was at the shop with Renee and George. They had their fair share of fights, but since George didn't go anywhere very often, they always made up shortly after. Victoria envied them sometimes, but never said anything about it. There were enough bad feelings in the air as it was.

Before Victoria could ponder it any further, the shop door flew open, causing Renee, George and Victoria to jump in alarm, wands raised.

"Hold your fire--it's just us!" Lee said, stumbling through the entrance with Fred.

Victoria dropped her wand on the counter and ran to Fred, hugging him tight. His licorice-and-soapy scent was tinged with the smell of sweat. He had been in a hurry obviously. Fred hugged her back breifly before disentangling himself from her.

"George, we gotta get to Hogwarts. Now," Fred said, his voice full of urgency.

"It's happening now," Lee added. "It's all out war."

George hopped over the counter he was standing behind. "Let's go," he said.

The girls started to follow the guys out the door and they turned around.

"Where do you think you're going?" Lee asked them.

"We're going to get a manicure, Lee," Renee said sarcastically. "Where do you think we're going?"

"Not with us. It's too dangerous."

"We're going with you!"

"Baby, stay here," George pleaded. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"We can take care of ourselves!" Victoria shouted.

"Tor, please, you and Renee stay here," Fred begged. "We want you girls to be safe."

"There isn't any place that's safe anymore!"

"It's safe here! George and I put protection spells on the store before I left, so please, just stay put."

Before the girls could argue against that, the guys had left. Victoria turned to Renee.

"Do you plan on staying put?" she asked.

"Nope," Renee said simply.

"Me either. Let's go."


	9. Chapter 9

I can't believe I haven't updated in like two months! I'm sorry.

To make up for my horrendous lack of updates, here is chapter 9, and I will also post the tenth and final chapter.

Characters I Own (in order of appearance):

Victoria Wallace

Renee

Shiloh

Rebecca (Becca)

Jennifer and Donovan Wallace

Jack

Logan

Stephanie and Anthony

And now...our next installment of Love, Chaos, and Weasleys!

Chapter 9

Victoria and Renee apparated into Hogsmeade and ran into two Hufflepuff boys who been in the DA with them a couple of years back.

'Jack and Logan,' Victoria silently reminded herself.

Jack was just twelve when they were in the DA. He looked younger though; he had such a baby face and big, bright blue eyes. His eyes were still big and bright, but he was losing some of the chubbiness in his cheeks now that he was getting older. His auburn hair was still as curly as Victoria remembered, and he was just as thin too. He didn't look as nervous as he used to though. Now, he had a grim and determined look in his normally pretty eyes, his mouth set in a thin line.

Logan had been fifteen at the time of the DA, but he looked almost exactly the same. Logan was big--just a little over six feet tall--and well muscled. He had an easy smile and shaggy blonde hair that hung in his jovial hazel eyes. The only difference now, besides the fact that he was now seventeen, was the fact that his eyes were no longer happy, but anxious, and his smile was tense.

"Going our way?" Logan asked, trying half-heartedly to make a joke.

Victoria and Renee nodded slightly, now more nervous that they were closer to all of the fighting. They were not going to turn and run back to the shop though. There was too much invensted in this, and too many people they loved fighting. They were determined to help.

"Then let's keep going," Jack said, pressing forward. "I heard there's an entrance through the Hogs Head."

Victoria, Renee, and Logan followed Jack to the Hogs Head and indeed there was a line of people going through a portrait that hung on the wall.

"Well...this is it," Renee said, taking a deep breath as her turn came up.

"Right behind you," Victoria said as Renee went through the portrait.

Victoria stepped up and started walking. Before she knew it she was in the Room of Requirement with a good portion of the DA. She saw Fred, George, and Lee getting ready to go out into the battle. Lee had rolled his eyes when he saw that Victoria and Renee had come--despite his attempts to keep them out of harm's way. Fred and George both looked worried and came over to the girls. George took Renee aside and Fred stayed with Victoria.

"I told you not to come," Fred said flatly.

"I know..." Victoria said quietly. "But there's too many people I love fighting right now and I didn't want to sit in the shop worrying. I want to help."

Fred just stared at her for a moment, his face unreadable. After a moment, he sighed, probably realizing there wasn't any way he was going to get her to change her mind. He put his hands on her waist and pulled her close for a kiss. It was gentle and full of urgency at the same time, and still had the dizzying effect his kisses always had. Victoria steadied herself by holding onto his arms.

"I love you, Tor," Fred said when they pulled away from each other.

"I love you, too."

"Be careful."

"You be careful too. I want you in one piece at the end of this."

He smiled a little and kissed her forehead before leaving with Lee and George, who were waiting for him. Renee walked over to Victoria, her wand at the ready.

"Let's do this," Renee said.

With a nod from Victoria, they left the safety of the Room of Requirement and into the battle.

Immediately they found themselves having to duck and stay as close to the wall as possible. Red and green sparks flew everywhere, people were screaming in agony, some were crying, and some were laying still on the ground.

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Stupefy!"

"Expelliaramus!"

"Crucio!"

It was hard to hear from whom most of these spells were coming from, but the Killing Curse was the one Victoria heard the most. Before long she and Renee got split up and Victoria found herself on her own. She had been in close proximity with a Death Eater and she could hear the beginnings of the Killing Curse.

Without thinking, she aimed her wand and yelled, "Stupefy!"

The Death Eater was knocked off of his feet and went flying several feet backwards. Victoria took the opportunity to run in the opposite direction. She ran in a zigzag fashion, jumping over broken objects and people, just barely avoiding being hit by a number of different spells. Her palms had begun to sweat and her wand was slowly falling from her hand. She wiped her hands on her jeans and held onto her wand tighter. Out of the corner of her eye she saw a couple of kids, a boy and a girl, cowering near a fallen tree. They only looked about eleven years old. She ran over to them and knelt down. The girl's long red hair was a mess, and her green eyes were wet with tears. The boy had black, messy hair and gray eyes that were full of fear.

"Hey...what are your names?" Victoria asked them gently.

"Stephanie," the girl said, sniffling.

"Anthony," said the boy.

"Okay. Stephanie, Anthony, you guys are gonna be okay. You just need to get down lower. Nobody will see you then."

"We don't want to hide here," Anthony said. "We want to get to our grandma."

Victoria bit her lip, looking around at all the madness. She knew they'd be safer here, but she felt guilty leaving them back, scared and alone.

"Alright. You guys come with me, but stick really close to me. I don't want you getting hurt." Stephanie and Anthony scrambled out from their hiding spot. Stephanie took Victoria's free hand and Anthony took Stephanie's other hand.

If Victoria had been cautious on her own, she was now extraordinarily careful with the kids in tow. They ran along in the forest, hidden from view most of the time. Victoria caught glimpses of the action from between the trees. Neither side was backing down. She wasn't sure when, or even if, this war would ever end.

"Grandma!" Stephanie said suddenly. "I see Grandma!"

Victoria looked through the trees and saw and older woman who looked like she was in about her late fifties. She ran a hand nervously through her wavy, graying hair and worry was etched on her slightly wrinkled face.

"Stephanie! Anthony!" the woman called out over the din of the fight, holding out her wand defensively.

Victoria bit her lip and looked from the kids to the woman and back to the kids again.

"When I say go, we're going to run to your grandma okay?" she said to them.

They nodded, getting ready to run faster than they ever had in their lives. Victoria waited for a small space to open before shouting "Go!" to the kids. The three of dashed out of their spot in the forest. Victoria stayed close to the kids, and it was a good thing she did. As they cut across the battleground she just saw someone aim their wand at Stephanie. Victoria pulled Stephanie out of the way and pushed her into her grandmother's arms as the Cruciatus Curse flew right past them. Anthony reached his grandmother quickly after that.

"Thank you so much," the grandmother said to Victoria, who just nodded in turn, before running off with her grandkids.

Victoria had hoped they got somewhere safe, but whether they even got off the grounds she didn't know. When Victoria had turned to fight some more when two spells came flying at her.

"Avada Kedavra!" followed by the jet of green light.

"Stupefy!" followed by red.

She was hit by only one of them and was sent flying backwards. Victoria hit her head on the wall of one of the buildings, but hardly even felt it as everything went black.

When Victoria started regaining consciencesness, she felt her body shaking. No, not shaking. Whoever was holding her in their arms was shaking. She opened her eyes and thought it was raining, but when a drop landed on her lips, it was salty. A tear.

"What's going on?" Victoria asked, her eyes opening more.

"Oh, Tori! Thank God!" Lee nearly shouted with relief. "Oh I thought you were dead...I thought my Stupefy spell was too slow...or maybe that I had killed you...too much force..."

"You saved me. Thank you." Victoria had never been more grateful for a wonderful friend like Lee Jordan.

She looked around them, and everything seemed to be at a stand still. The grounds were completely and utterly destroyed. Bricks and stone and glass lay everywhere. Bodies of the dead, and the wounded, lay strewn around the battle field. Yet those who remained standing looked torn between grief and joyfulness.

"The war is over. We won," Lee informed her, noticing her wandering eyes. Now that he was convinced Victoria was fine, his crying had ceased. He helped Victoria to her feet and they walked around, unsure of what to do next. As they walked, they saw people hugging each other. Few people were celebrating the win. Many were crying, and getting their wounds bandaged and mended. But what really got to Victoria were the countless, lifeless bodies. Young and old. Strong and weak. It had been too much to bear. She just couldn't wait to find Fred again, to be in his arms and kiss him again. Then, none of this destruction would seem real anymore. Just an incredibly horrible nightmare.

The pair soon saw a crowd of red hair, dotted by a brunette and somebody with black hair. The Weasleys, Hermione and Harry. Victoria breathed a sigh of relief but upon closer inspection, the crowd was gathered around someone. They were crying. Its amazing how fast one can go from being to relieved to panicked. She pushed her way through and the first thing she noticed was Mrs. Weasley had laid her head on her fallen child, sobbing uncontrollably. She glanced up to see which sibling knelt at the head. This sibling had tears streaming down his face, the face that so resembled Victoria's fiance. However...this one was missing an ear. Her heart thudded painfully in her chest as she searched frantically for Fred. She was afraid to look down. Mr. Weasley gently lifted Mrs. Weasley up and drew her close to him. When Mrs. Weasley had got up, Victoria's worst fear was realized.

Her nightmare was just beginning.

'No, not Fred, not Fred, not Fred,' Victoria repeated in her head, fighting back an anguished cry as her heart wrenched in her chest. She could not, and would not, accept that Fred was dead. She dropped to her knees and grabbed at his wrists, felt his neck, foolishly and desperately checking for a pulse.

"Tori, kiddo...come on..." she vaugely heard Bill say, touching her shoulder. His voice was strained.

She shook off his hand and ignored him. Fred still felt warm to the touch. People who were dead were cold. Warm meant alive. Cold meant dead. When she failed to find a pulse, even though he was still a bit warm, she put her hand to Fred's nose, feeling for the slightest bit of air. Still nothing.

In a wild last attempt of checking for life, she kissed his lips, praying for them to kiss back. When at first they did not, she kissed harder, as if that would work. Her lips fiercely worked at his, but Fred's lips stubbornly lay motionless beneath hers.


	10. Chapter 10

And this is the final chapter of Love, Chaos, and Weasleys.

Thank you to all who read it, even if you didn't review.

I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Chapter 10

When Fred didn't kiss her back, Victoria was too deeply in shock to feel Lee's arm around her shoulder, pulling her away from Fred. She just stood there and stared at his lifeless body. Of all the people in the world, Fred was the one she least expected to lose. Not because she believed him immortal, but there was just so much life and humor in him. It was surreal to see him on the ground now.

Victoria didn't cry. She thought that if she cried, it was too final. It would be like he was really gone forever. She couldn't handle that.

Victoria was barely aware of her father running over to her and hugging her tightly. She hugged him back, merely as a reflex. She couldn't hear her father telling her that he had been so worried about her, and that he loved her, or that he was sorry about Fred. It was like watching one of those silent movies the Muggles used to watch, except she didn't have the text between the actions. When Fred's body was finally moved, Donovan took Victoria home where Jennifer hugged them both tightly, refusing to let them go.

The next few days following the casualty filled battle at Hogwarts, Victoria was completely unresponsive. She wouldn't talk to either of her parents and she didn't show any signs of hearing them, even though did. She heard everything they said to her and about her. Her mother had begged her to eat something, anything (which Victoria didn't), her father had told her mother that seeing Fred that day might have messed her up more than they thought. She sometimes heard her parents arguing about what to do with her if she didn't improve soon. The word "catatonic" was thrown around a lot. The only time Victoria ever moved from her bed was to take a shower in the mornings, or to go to the bathroom. Otherwise, she had completely shut down.

Soon, about a week and a half had passed and there was no change from Victoria. She heard her parents in the hallway a lot, but one day she heard a new, but familiar voice in the hallway. It was Mr. Weasley.

"How is Victoria?" he asked, already expecting some bad news it sounded like.

"We just don't know what to do, Arthur," Jennifer told him. "She won't eat anymore...she won't talk..."

"She hardly even moves anymore," Donovan had said. "We're worried about her. I've thought about taking her to St. Mungo's to see if they could do something..."

"Would it be okay with you if she came back to the Burrow with me? Fred's...funeral...is tomorrow, and perhaps she would be more willing to open up to George, maybe Ginny..."

"Of course. If you think it would help..." Jennifer said.

There wasn't anymore discussion after that. Jennifer pushed Victoria's door open some more and went inside to pack up some clothes and things for Victoria.

"Victoria, Arthur's invited you to stay over at the Burrow," Donovan said. "Isn't that nice of him?" Victoria just stared ahead. Donovan sighed and helped Victoria out of her bed.

The next thing Victoria knew her mother was handing her an overnight bag and Mr. Weasley was leading her through the Floo Network. He must not have trusted himself to attempt Apparation so distracted, Victoria decided. The Burrow wasn't at all how she remembered it. Yes, it looked the same, but it did not feel the same. There was no laughter, or teasing, or yelling from Mrs. Weasley...none of the regular energy. Instead, she looked out the window and saw Ron, Harry, and Hermione sitting out back; George was with Charlie, Percy, Bill, and Fleur in the living room talking and remembering; Ginny and Mrs. Weasley were not in sight.

"Molly and Ginny are probably upstairs setting up a bed for you," Mr. Weasley told Victoria, as if reading her mind. "You'll stay in Ginny's room with her and Hermione." Mr. Weasley took her into the living room. "Look who I've found."

Charlie, Percy, Bill, and Fleur all looked towards the doorway and smiled a little at Victoria. George looked up to acknowledge her presence, but did not smile. Victoria wasn't sure if he had smiled at all lately. She hadn't anyway.

"Tori, it's good to see you," Charlie said, getting up. "Haven't seen you in a long time." He hugged her and she hugged him back, brain on autopilot. He waited for her to say something and when she didn't he went on. "Sorry I didn't write as often as I promised before I went to Romania." Victoria stayed silent and just looked up a Charlie, a blank expression on her face.

"Victoria hasn't been very talkative lately," Mr. Weasley said when Charlie looked confused at Victoria.

"Oh," was all Charlie said in response.

"Well, Victoria, why don't you join everybody? There's a seat next to George." Mr. Weasley took her bag from her and nudged her forward. "I'll take your bag upstairs."

Victoria walked over and sat down next to George and Mr. Weasley disappeared upstairs. The six of them sat in awkward silence for a minute, everybody looking at Victoria, and Victoria staring down at the engagement ring on her finger. A few moments later Fleur broke the silence.

"Oh, Victoria, I'm so sorry...zis must be so 'ard for you, losing 'im like zat..." she said and started to get up to hug Victoria.

Victoria, who had not reacted to anything anybody said, reacted to that. There was no facial reaction, or verbal reaction, just her hands turning to fists. She did not want to hear anything about losing Fred. It was all she heard lately and she was sick of it.

Bill had noticed the subtle change and pulled Fleur back to him.

"Fleur, not now..." he said gently.

"I'm just trying to 'elp."

"I know, honey."

Fleur frowned, but didn't say anything else to Victoria. The group had resumed their conversation and this time, Victoria tuned them out. Before she knew it, Mrs. Weasley was in the living room saying that dinner was ready. Fleur and the boys, even George who was somewhat reluctant, all got up and went to the kitchen. Victoria stayed still. Mrs. Weasley tried to coax her into the kitchen with everybody else and to eat something, but like Jennifer, Mrs. Weasley did not succeed. Without a word to Mrs. Weasley, Victoria went upstairs to lay down. Maybe if she pretended to go to sleep, everybody would leave her alone for a while.

The next morning, Victoria got up and took her shower while everybody was eating breakfast. In the back of her mind, she knew it was the day of Fred's funeral. She wondered what it would be like. She had never been to a funeral before, but she imagined that they were sad. Victoria didn't think Fred's funeral would be sad, but then again she kept hoping this was some elaborate and cruel prank he was playing on her. She expected him to come bounding through the door and say something like, "Gotcha, babe. Man, I really had you fooled." Then he would laugh. As she stepped out of the shower and wrapped a towel around herself, she could hear his laughter so clearly, she turned around quickly, nearly slipping and grabbed the sink for balance. He wasn't there. Victoria's chest ached and her eyes burned but she took a deep breath to get herself under control again. She still refused to cry (crying made it real) as she got dressed. Ginny, or maybe Hermione, had laid out a pair of jeans and a lacy black shirt for her. Victoria put on the clothes and slipped into a pair of black heels. She ran a brush through her hair a few times and brushed her teeth before going downstairs.

Everybody was in the living room, standing as quietly as their clothing said they should be. Mrs. Weasley was already dabbing at her eyes with her handkerchief and Ginny hugged her, which made Mrs. Weasley cry even more. They all left for the funeral after that.

Victoria had always known the twins were popular, but she didn't realize how popular until they got to the funeral grounds. It seemed like most of Hogwarts was there. Gryffindors, Hufflepuffs, Ravenclaws, even some Slytherins, were there. Some of the professors were there too, like Hagrid and McGonagall. Lee and Renee had found George and Victoria pretty quickly. Lee was dressed in a black suit with his school tie, probably the only tie he owned. Renee was wearing a modest, knee length dress and black heels like Victoria's. The only color she had was the reddness in her blue eyes. Renee wrapped her arms around George, hugging him tight. He hugged her back and held her close. Victoria stood awkwardly with Lee, who reached over to give her shoulder a comforting squeeze. Just the simple touch made her throat tighten so Victoria walked away from him and took a seat in the row behind Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Lee eventually made his way over to her again and sat with her, but didn't touch her. Renee came and sat on the other side of Lee while George sat with his family. Not long after that the service started.

A few songs were played; a couple of them were Fred's favorites, a couple were sad. The funeral director had got up in front of the crowd and introduced George, who had Fred's eulogy prepared. George got up shakily and stood in front of everybody. He cleared his throat before beginning.

"A lot of you probably just know Fred as a guy in the hallways at school, or that obnoxious kid that sat behind you in class." George paused while a couple laughed, probably remembering Fred pestering them for a quill or the answer to a test question. "But Fred was more than that. Fred was a good son, even if he, and okay, and myself included, gave our parents some trouble...but he was good...and a great brother. He did his fair share of teasing, true, but he was incredibly protective of his family. I remember once at school somebody was picking on Ginny...oh man, were we pissed...but Fred just pinned this kid to the ground with his wand to this kid's throat and wouldn't let him up until he apologized to Ginny...or more like groveled for Ginny's forgiveness... He was also the best friend anybody could ask for. Fred would be there for any of us if we needed him..." Throughout his speech, George's eyes were glazed with tears, but now they started to fall. "My twin, my partner in crime, my best friend...I love you, Fred..."

George reclaimed his seat next to Percy and cried into his hands. Percy hugged George as more people came up to share some things about Fred. Most people remembered him for his humor, some recalled a joke he had played on them, a few had talked about a time that Fred had helped them...there was a lot of laughter among the tears. Victoria still sat as silently and as blank faced as before. Some people looked at her, knowing she was Fred's fiancee. They all expected her to say something, but she wasn't going to. She hadn't spoken in over a week, she didn't intend to start now.

After everybody who wanted to speak got the chance to, a procession to walk past Fred's open casket started. The Weasleys went first, then the grandparents and other family members. All of the friends went next. When Victoria's turn approached, she hesitated before turning and walking out of the line.

"Tori, where are you going?" Renee asked as Victoria passed her.

"Just let her go, Renee..." Victoria heard Lee say.

Victoria walked away from the crowd. Her chest ached, her throat tightened up, and her eyes burned. She was determined to regain control of herself. She just knew she couldn't look at Fred like that. It was hard enough the first time.

"Victoria! Victoria, wait," George said from behind her. She kept walking away and she nearly gasped in surprise when he grabbed her arm. "Why are you leaving?" Victoria didn't answer him or look at him. George grabbed her by both arms now. "If you don't want to look, you don't have to, but don't just run off." Victoria still remained silent, and refused to meet George's gaze.

"Tori, come on...stop this. Fred would not want this for you." George noticed her flinch at Fred's name. Seeing that he could get some kind of reaction from her now, he kept going. "Fred would want you there, Tori...he'd want you to talk and smile again..." Victoria struggled against George's grip, trying to get lose. He just held on tighter.

"For Merlin's sake, Tori, would you at least fucking look at me? Nobody fucking looks anymore..." George was starting to get impatient, Victoria could tell. She knew George to swear ocassionally, but he never directed it at her before, and his tone was unusually harsh. She hesitantly looked up at George's face and she could sense an insane mix of emotions. There was anger, grief, and worry...it was hard to see all of that but she couldn't look away now. "I know losing Fred is hard on you, but it's really hard on me too! But you know what? I'm still going. You have shut down, Tori. You're nothing more than a shell now. Fred would hate that, and you know it."

While George spoke, Victoria's eyes had welled up with the tears she had so desperately kept at bay for over a week. The tears finally started to fall and she found that once she started, she couldn't stop. Victoria's legs suddenly felt weak, like a Jelly-legs jinx was cast upon her and if George had not been holding onto her arms still, she would have crumpled to the ground. George pulled her closer to him, hugging her tight and Victoria continued to sob into his shoulder.

"It isn't fair, George...it isn't fair..." Victoria whimpered.

"I know it isn't, Tori..." whispered George. "Believe me, I know..."

"He told me that once it was all over he wasn't going to leave me ever again...and now he's gone...I want him back..."

Victoria and George stood together for a long time, crying and trying to comfort each other. Eventually, they calmed down and George escorted Victoria back to the group so she could finally say goodbye to Fred.


End file.
